Friday March 20, 2015

I've Been Thinking:

Sometimes the people involved in international relations need to rely more heavily on the tools needed to manage adolescent behavior and conflicts than one would imagine. Mediating between presidents, prime ministers and diplomats is very much like dealing with full blown adolescence.

The recent chastisement of Israel by the White House is a perfect example.

It sounded like 15 year old kids playing a game of "dare", albeit with much higher stakes. Like kids who say things they should not be saying just to get a rise out of the other side.

This was more or less the tone of the White House statement:
"We are thinking of withdrawing our cover for Israel at the UN."
Many people were livid that this sentiment, even in an unattributed statement, would be expressed.

The media grabbed it.

Republicans went berserk.

In the end, it will never happen. It is a ploy. It is all about the reaction it will illicit. It is so adolescent.

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