Should the USA swap their current foreign policy training film, “Apocalypse Now”, for an earlier Coppola film, “The Godfather Part II”?
Keep Your Friends Close
by cameron | Feb 7, 2008 | Uncategorized | 3 comments
3 Comments
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I don’t necessarily disagree with you on this one. But what happens when the country that the US (or any other country for that matter) has an embargo on, has done so because the country in question is or has done something that is morally or legally wrong. So it is an embargo on principle? So in fact dealing with them would be to condone or indeed fund their activities, or be seen to be doing as much. And if the US were to deal with these countries how then could they protest their actions, if not with economic sanction?
yeah it’s an interesting question Dave. I tend to break these big questions down to simple, everyday analogies. They aren’t bullet proof, but they can be a guide to how to act.
Let’s say a member of your family, a sibling, did something you didn’t agree with. Let’s say they start using hard drugs. What would you do? Cut off contact with them? If it’s one of your kids, would you throw them out of the house? Or would you try to find a way of communicating with them in a manner they could relate to, to understand?
I don’t think foreign policy is much different. Other countries are like our family members. What I am sure of is that you don’t punish a political leader of a country by stopping the people of that country from having access to medicine.
“has done something that is morally or legally wrong”
That’s very subjective. I fundamentally don’t agree with the death penalty. It’s just plain murder as far as I can see. That doesn’t mean that I refuse to go to America or speak to Americans. On the contrary, it means that I should go to America and speak to Americans and explain my views.
I wish some high level Western leader would actually go to Iran. It’d be pretty embarassing for Ahmadinajad if someone turned up on his doorstep and challenged him on some of his dodgy views in front of the world’s press.