Diplomadic Immunity

The Diplomad provides a sabre-rattling solution to the Cuban situation, soundly rebutted by Dylan Sherlock in his comments and blog.

The Diplomad recommends

... if necessary, at a time of our choosing use our military assets in a direct intervention in Cuba. We've charged half-way round the world to remove the menace and tyranny of Saddam, and yet we have an even greater menace just 90 miles offshore

Dylan Sherlock replies

If the State Department is concerned with reintroducing the Island of Cuba into America's sphere of influence they better not forget that it's not a geographic hunk of land on a map they're dealing with, but a whole nation which has had the last century to learn how to hate you. For whatever reason.
If you want to get revenge on Castro, steal the hearts of his people.

In another post on the Diplomad, the French inability to let go of their empire is scorned

We won't recount France's history in western Africa since WWII. Suffice it to say, that France never reconciled itself to giving up its empire there and, so, it hasn't.

As a post-colonial myself, I find it amusing that the erstwhile powers, the US included, still persist in last-millenium thoughts of control and economic authority. In a world of open markets, the post-colonial countries are free to choose their trading blocs independent of historical identity. While some of the success of post-colonial countries can be attributed to their colonial heritage, a la Sir Nirad Chaudhuri, it is not purely due to a Western education or perspective that countries like India, China and Japan are the rising stars of the global firmanent.

Western intervention across the world in the last five hundred years has produced a fractured world of malformed nation-states, each retreating to identity defined by tribalism and social compacts. Further, as India knows to its regret from its experiments with manipulation of neighboring countries like Sri Lanka, an unstable friend is an easy enemy. That's a topic for a separate post, though and shall be followed up.

Of Note:
Niall Ferguson's cautionary words are a good precis of the British Raj, and it's aftermath