Silent "Diplomacy"

We won’t negotiate with you until you first agree to our demands.

Have you noticed that President Bush’s childish and ineffective stance toward North Korea, Iran and any other perceived threat is virtually identical to the stance he takes toward his political opponents? --

We won’t let you participate in the policy making process until you first agree to our policies.

No wonder the legislative record of the last five years is abysmal. And have you noticed that this is similar to the stance he takes on dissent? --

We won’t consider you patriotic Americans until you first agree with our agenda and support our actions.

This stubborn, arrogant attitude pervades the Bush Administration. No wonder our country is so divided and our image so tarnished.

Healthy relations demand effective communication, whether with your neighbors or your enemies. But the policies of the Bush Administration make free, direct and open communication all but impossible.

No wonder North Korea has become such a huge problem, and no wonder Iran continues to thumb its nose at us. Without comprehensive, constructive engagement, diplomacy can't happen. And blustering, bullying and ignoring is not diplomacy, as much as Bush and his minions want it to be. In fact, their stance is antithetical to diplomacy.

Until we elect leaders capable of formulating complex solutions to complex problems, we will risk the further erosion of our security and our global standing. Those currently running the nation are clearly not competent to do the job. The best their simplistic, black-and-white minds have come up with is “the silent treatment.” Another good reason to throw the bums out.

- JT Compton