Should The President Meet With
Dictators?
There are a lot of bad leaders of
countries. As much as we want everyone
to have a representative democracy, that is not reality. We should still maintain a dialogue with
leaders of countries we don’t like. You
can still have a working relationship with someone else even if you don’t
personally like them.
I think it is critical that the
President meet often with leaders even if they are dictators. Only bad things can happen if you have no
dialogue. The more interaction there is,
the better chance at having peaceful relationships.
We may try to support efforts in that
country to groups who advocate democracy, but still work with the regime in
power.
Besides having face to face talks,
the best way to influence a regime is to have a lot of cultural exchanges. The more the youth in the country see how
others in the world live, the better chance for change. Now these exchanges are just “planting seeds”
that may take years to bring results.
However, they need to be done.
The President can be firm in his/her
handling of a dictator but should not try to threaten him. The dictator did not get to be head of the
country by being meek. A President needs
to keep it professional and recognize that like it or not this person leads
that country.
It is the work of the people at
levels below the leaders of each country that set the groundwork for any
success. The more interaction there is
with these groups the better.
Relationships between the US and
countries run by dictators can be manageable if both leaders respect each other
and each offers something of benefit. It
can’t be all “demands or else.” I hope
that the President does talk a lot with leaders all over the world.
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