THE OTHER WAR AGAINST TOBACCO

Freedom At Issue:

Two weeks ago,a sting at New York City cigar clubs and a search of a pick-up
truck at the border checkpoint in San Clemente resulted in the seizure of
thousands of dollars of illegal Cuban cigars. The ban on Cuban cigars is
part of the now 35-year-old array of trade sanctions against the regime of
Fidel Castro.

The question is,has the trade embargo outlived its usefulness? In fact,has
it been counterproductive since the beginning?

Efforts to enforce ban on Cuban cigars are stepped up-to what end?

Recently,the U.S. Customs Service mounted a major offensive in the federal
government's latest brainchild: the war on Cuban cigars. Agents swept
through exclusive Manhattan clubs and restaurants, arresting both managers
and patrons alike. More dangerous acrimanals off the street - Park Avenue,
in this case.

News reports recalled images of Prohibition era speakeasy raids. "[Agents]
searched the upscale restaurant Patroon and arrested its cigar room manager
Alex Hasbany," reported Reuters newswire. "The restaurant's owner, Kenneth
Aretsky, former president of New York's famous 21 Club, surrendered to
authorities on Thursday.

Good thing Aretsky went peacefully - gun battles in expensive restaurants
were all the rage in the days of cigar-smoking crime boss Al Capone, but are
passe today.

During the same week, U.S. Border Patrol agents seized $40,000 of Cuban
cigars in a pickup truck at the San Clemente border checkpoint. In New York,
federal prosecutors reported seizing several hundred thousand dollars worth
of the prized stogies. At least nine people were arrested, including John
Steinhardt, head of U.S. securities at Chase Securities, Inc., a unit of
Chase Manhattan Bank.

The raids were conducted under the auspices of the Trading With The Enemy
Act, which grants presidents the authority to prohibit the import of
property from specified foreign countries.

Federal law has banned most imports from Cuba since July 8, 1963, shortly
after John F. Kennedy ordered then-press secretary Pierre Salinger to go out
and buy as many of his favorite H. Upmann Petit Coronas as possible.

In 1996 the Helms-Burton Act codified many of the unilateral economic
sanctions against Cuba that the United States had maintained under the
Trading With the Enemy Act.

It also added noxious new provisions, such as extraterritorial boycotts of
foreign companies that do business in Cuba.

Such laws offer massive potential for abuse because enforcement will always
be spotty. Prominent businessmen have been busted, but how many members of
Congress have occasionally indulged in a fine Havana Montecristo or Cohiba
Esplendidos? Don't expect to see agents raiding Capitol Hill offices anytime
soon.

Besides, is Cuba really our enemy?

With the collapse of the Soviet Union and the subsequent end of subsidies to
Cuba in the early 1990s, the Cuban security threat virtually ceased to
exist. Now we isolate Cuba, not to enhance security, but to do more - to
"help" the Cuban people.

It's difficult to see how commando raids on American citizens will promote
freedom abroad.

In any case, it's bad policy. Our government was established to protect the
life, liberty and property of the people of the United States; we must not
allow our rights to be compromised, even for seemingly admirable purposes.

The example of a free and prosperous America is a more powerful force for
change than any embargo will ever by.

Nevertheless, Customs has dramatically stepped up its enforcement efforts
against Cuban cigars. The agency reported confiscating $3.1 million worth
last year alone, in 3,700 separate seizures.

As is the case with illegal narcotics, prices will rise and more smuggling
will occur; oppression in Cuba will continue, however, just as it has during
nearly four decades of U.S. isolation.

Sadly, the cigar raids are only the latest example of America's senseless
Cuba policy in action. Continued U.S. antagonism has been a major reason
Castro has remained so firmly in power, despite the Cuban economy's
deterioration.

If Congress and the Clinton administration are serious about encouraging
liberalization, they should allow Americans to trade freely with Cuba.

The Cuban embargo - and the cigar wars - should be consigned to the ash heap
of history.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Does a trade embargo against Cuba make sense to you? Let us know what you
think. We'll publish responses in future editions of Commentary.

Send submissions by mail, The Register, Attn: Freedom At Issue, P.O. Box
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Checked-by: Don Beck