The Axis of Engagement III

Okay, it’s now an established principle of international relations: if you’re running a repressive regime and want the United States to show respect, just arrest some American citizens, put them on trial, sentence them to hard labor, and wait for a delegate to come to you with hat in hand. Engagement! It worked for North Korea, and now it’s working for Burma. I’ll bet Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who recently stole a second term as president of Iran, is flipping through the law books to see what crimes those three American backpackers might have committed.

Perhaps you should cancel your plans to visit Venezuela or Russia. Who knows what Hugo Chávez or Vladimir Putin want from the Obama administration? Blue skies! – Dan Ford (Anyhow, it was Aung San Suu Kyi whom I wanted set free.)