Barring the unexpected, George W. Bush will be the 10th U.S. president to inherit Fidel Castro as a neighbor. Already some Cuba analysts predict a hardening of U.S. policy. Yet many in Congress, notably pro-trade Republicans and liberal Democrats, will no doubt push for lifting the trade embargo.

Realistically, however, the new Bush administration would do best to stay the course. That means continuing the people-to-people exchanges of the past several years while maintaining the trade sanctions. Bush also should pressure Cuba for improved human rights and a transition to democracy.

Cuba relations should no longer be viewed through a Cold War prism. Russian President Vladimir Putin's recent visit to Cuba, and his refusal to criticize America, makes clear that such a view is outmoded.

Nor should the U.S. embargo be wielded as a blunt instrument. The current cultural, sports, academic exchanges should be promoted. They expose Cubans to new information and lessen the fear of change. Family visits do the same, perhaps more powerfully. We believe all travel restrictions on U.S. citizens should be lifted. Ultimately the goodwill reaped from such human contact improves the chances for peaceful transition.

Critics inaccurately assail the U.S. trade embargo as a failure because the regime remains in place. But by that measure, Canadian and European ``engagement'' also would be considered failures because they haven't led to human rights or democracy. Worse, by not including required codes of business conduct, engagement polices have strengthened the regime's ability to repress. Foreign investors not only don't press for labor rights, but become partners with the regime in exploiting Cuban workers.

That's why U.S. trade and investment sanctions should remain. It's also why Bush should refrain from implementing the extra-territorial provisions of the Helms-Burton law. Unless waived, Title III would allow U.S. citizens or companies to sue foreign ventures using confiscated property in Cuba.

Such provisions have antagonized the European Union to the point that international complaints about the U.S. embargo drown out condemnations of Cuba's police state. The best policy is when the United States and allies press the Cuban regime for change.