But a liftingof the embargo - the world's oldest, having been imposed in 1992 - had been pushed for by the new government of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.
After all, this outcome was made virtually inevitable by the Europeans' unwillingness over the past week to implement or enforce what the United States hoped would be the three basic pillars of allied action -- the liftingof the arms embargo against Bosnian Muslims, air strikes and a total shut-down of the Danube and other essential supply lines for the Serbian war machine and economy.
Although Obama lifted some restrictions on travel and remittances to the island by Cuban-Americans, many in the region want more, including the liftingof the decades-old embargo, something Obama says he is not considering.
It wants the United States, before lifting the embargo, to secure a commitment from Europe and Latin America to press for the release of political prisoners.