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Does appeasement ever work?
Using diplomacy to deal with fanatical madmen can be difficult.

Arthur Neville Chamberlain was a British Conservative politician and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1937 to 1940. Chamberlain is best known for an appeasement foreign policy, in particular for his signing of the Munich Agreement in 1938, conceding the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia to Hitler, and, when Germany continued its aggression, for his "containment" policy of Germany in 1939 that culminated in declaring war on Germany on
3 September 1939. (From Wikipedia.)

Barack Obama is the current elected American President and recent winner of the Nobel Peace Prize after less than a year in office. It is said that he was chosen for that award for his willingness to use more diplomacy in his country's dealings with the Muslim World and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran.

A Webster definition of "appease" is to bring to a state of peace or quiet. Or to buy off (an aggressor) by concessions usually at the sacrifice of principles.

Unlike with Hitler, we are dealing with a situation in Iran that brings Nuclear Weapons and our ally Israel into play. Our new young President is under a tremendous amount of pressure from his liberal anti-war base to end the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, just when his Generals are asking for more troops.

The policy he is conducting right now, at least so far, is not what could be called an appeasement foreign policy, but many decisions are close to being made that could change that assesment. Of course, Israel will also be watching! W.C.

 

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