I agree with you on everything with the possible exception being OFAC's purpose and how they operate "now". Just subjecture on my part. I especially agree with your edit.
Edit: If I was in possesion of one of those letters, I think the only person that I would share it with is my lawyer. While they may just be fishing, I don't think that sending the letter to the editor of a well known cigar magazine for their use would be at the top of my list of intelligent things to do. Maybe I'm just paranoid...