President Obama has made it quite clear both during the campaign and now that he is in office that there is no country we should refrain from trying to engage on issues of mutual interest.A very high minded goal, that. Unfortunately, just as Obama's liberal base swoons over how good such a policy makes them feel, our enemies take what we have unilaterally given them and then laugh in our face.Former state department official Elliot Abrams writing in the Weekly Standard: Assad's conduct is surprising only if you view him as a seeker after peace, waiting merely for the hand of friendship from Washington to reorient his regime toward the West. That appears to have been the Obama approach. But Assad's reaction is entirely predictable if you view him as a vicious dictator dependent on Iran's regime for political, financial, and military support. Similarly, the notion that American "engagement" is the road to a Syrian-Israeli peace deal over the Golan Heights is sensible if you...(Read Full Post)