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Shell development that followed ripe with details. tuesday night officials at the u.s. interest section in havana threw a party for local diplomats and dignitaries and journalists. that was nice. they very much wanted to distract from the events that were just about to break wide open. the white house didn't even tell the pentagon that it was taking an airplane to havana in the wee hours yesterday. that's kind of the thing that the pentagon would want to know about, you would think. instead the officials went to the presidential fleet based at joint base andrews to bring home the american cont...

>> for 50 years, without that dialogue, it's been brutal. >> who's going to sign off on the dialogue part without the rest of the treatment? >> you oversee the state department. the president wants full diplomatic relations. there's cuban interest section here in washington. he wants an embassy, an ambassador. are you with him on that? >> the president did negotiation this through the state department. i'm just adding another layer of complexity. >> ben rhodes was the kree yeah s for. >> what i have heard is this was not done through state but the white house. so there is that issue, as well. ...

Castro be able to do some the same in cuba. i would note app -- ap is reporting president obama will talk today about the beginnings of a diplomatic opening to cuba with the possibility of opening an embassy there. this is clearly part of a larger strategy at the white house to try to begin to normalize relations with cuba after 54 years. >> yeah. that's a big step if that is indeed what the president announces today at noon. we have to remember that there is only been a u.s. interest section in cuba dating back to the carter administration. there are no diplomatic ties between the united stat...

Republican colleague, senator marco rubio, a member of the senate foreign relations committee, that anyone that the president nominates to be the american ambassador to havana, to koocuba, he will vote against and any funding to establish a formal u.s. embassy in havana, he will vote against any funding for a u.s. embassy in havana, what do you say to senator rubio? >> he has strongly held views on this. i respect those views but i strongly disagree. we have a u.s. interest section in cuba. and we ought to have an embassy. we ought to have normalized relations. that would do better to protect ...

To start talking about these issues. and there's been no response from the government. >> because the -- when you say the envoy, the u.s. does have a diplomatic interest section in havana, so there are u.s. officials there who are working on behalf of your husband. >> they're not considered envoys, though. what we're talking about is somebody who can really go in and start negotiations with the cubans. >> well, i remember it wasn't that long ago, bill richardson, former u.s. ambassador to the u.n., he went to cuba hoping to bring alan gross out of cuba with him. they wouldn't even let him se...