An Aug. 19 article by Manuel Roig-Franzia quotes Raúl Castro as saying that Cuba "has always been open to normalizing relations [with the United States] on an equal plane" but adding, "What we can't accept is the policy of arrogance and meddling. . . ."

This is consistent with a conversation I had with Mr. Castro in 1981 when I was chief of the U.S. Interests Section in Havana. He expressed puzzlement as to why it seemed to be so difficult to mount a dialogue to discuss disagreements. "You have your system and we have ours," he said.

"But that doesn't mean we can't discuss conflicts of interests; indeed, such a dialogue will more often than not benefit both sides."

He stressed, however, that the United States should not expect Cuba to give up socialism any more than Cuba would ask the United States to stop being a capitalist democracy. "Trying to change one another's internal arrangements," he said, "is a road that leads nowhere."

But with its 500-page plan for societal transformation issued in May 2004 and its "Compact with the Cuban People," issued in July, that is precisely the road the Bush administration is trying to go down. It has even appointed a "transition coordinator" to oversee the process. This is indeed a road that leads nowhere. Our transition coordinator wasn't successful in Iraq even after we invaded and occupied that country. How is he supposed to succeed from an office in the State Department with no influence whatsoever in Cuba?