George Hahn

In a rare direct message to the Cuban people, U.S.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio offered a lifeline, with strings attached.

The only thing standing in the way of a better future are those who control your country, Rubio said, predicating $100 million in aid on regime change.

His message was timed to coincide with the announcement that the aircraft carrier Nimitz is heading toward the island, as well as the Justice Department's decision to indict Raul Castro, the country's 94-year-old former president and de facto leader.

The endgame script is similar to the one the U.S.

deployed against Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro.

But just in case there's any ambiguity about the goal, President Trump has been saying the quiet part out loud since March.

I built this great military.

I said you'll never have to use it.

But sometimes you have to use it.

And Cuba is next, by the way.

We've seen this movie before, and it doesn't end well.

In his famous 16th century treatise, The Prince, Niccolo Machiavelli asked whether it's better for a leader to be loved or feared.

One should wish to be both, he wrote, but because it is difficult to unite them in one person, it is much safer to be feared than loved.

Today, Machiavellian is used to describe a ruthless style of politics where fear is the most valuable currency.

But as Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, the senior associate dean for leadership studies at Yale's School of Management observed, many of today's leaders miss the operative part of the diplomat's famous quote.

What Machiavelli actually advised was that it is best to be both loved and feared, Sonnenfeld wrote.

Only when that ideal is not possible did Machiavelli suggest fear is a more reliable way to inspire discipline than bonds of love.

One of the many failings of the Trump administration is the false belief that America is incapable of inspiring fear and love simultaneously.

Trump's preference for instilling fear in other nations and his disdain for inspiring their love misses what makes America so great.