The virtue of engaging - and not isolating - your foes

SINCE he came into office six years ago, President Barack Obama has been criticised for pursuing a strategy of diplomatic and economic engagement with the United States' adversaries.

Unlike his predecessor, who seemed to believe that Washington should retaliate against governments that didn't support American policies, Mr Obama insisted that diplomatic isolation and economic sanctions are not effective ways to turn enemies into friends. Instead, he launched a series of diplomatic openings, trying to "reset" the strained relations with Russia, reduce tensions with China and negotiate with Iran, and bring states such as Myanmar and Cuba out of the diplomatic cold.

Critics of these policies have bashed them as "appeasement" that only projects weakness and invites aggression, suggesting that Russia's invasion of Crimea and China's assertive stand over territorial disputes in the South and East China seas were direct results of American diplomatic and military fecklessness.