Talking the talk.
The Obama administration's decision to insist on an Israeli settlement freeze is, as some predicted, turning out to be a mistake, at least from the standpoint of rejuvenating the peace process. And it's pretty obvious why: the administration drew a line in the sand that they could not enforce. Leave aside whether they should have drawn this particular line so firmly, the fact is they let their rhetoric get out ahead of what they were actually willing or able to do to apply pressure to defend their line.
This is, unfortunately, a common practice in Washington. It was evident during the Bush years, when numerous stern warnings to the likes of Iran and North Korea went unheeded by their intended recipients with no serious consequences. The Obama administration has picked up the torch not only with the peace process, but with Iran as well.
The point here is not that the U.S. should follow through on every foolish pronouncement it makes, but that its public officials should stop using the language of "red lines" unless they actually and sincerely mean to enforce them. Either offer some mealy-mouthed equivocation or keep a reserved silence. Is that so hard?
China, too, has arguably made a similar blunder by recently declaring the South China Sea a "core national interest" - language it previously reserved for discussing Tibet and Taiwan. This proclamation set off an immediate, and overwhelmingly negative response from China's neighbors and the U.S. Whether this was a gaffe or not, it's now a marker in the sand that China is going to have to either defend (which would be costly and potentially calamitous) or claw back (which would be embarrassing). Either way, it's suggests that China is beginning to "talk the talk" of a superpower. They may rue the results.
(AP Photo)