And now Burma's best known dissident and the opposition want us to know that our diplomacy is idiocy on ice:
The left may be content to see the Obama administration pursue a policy of engagement with America's enemies, but we are now starting to see the consequences of such policies as a former political prisoner and democratic activist is forced to take to the op-ed page to insist that he "will not be cowed or coerced into participating in a fatally flawed political process that robs [us] of the freedom for which we struggle."
Stupid dissidents! How simplisme can you get? I mean, really.
I'm sure our State Department is even now writing up reports on how these Burmese dissidents lack the nuance to understand that our support would taint them.
Best all around to engage the Burmese junta with smart diplomacy and let the dissidents and opposition maintain their untainted image under the heel of the misguided government until hope and change really kicks into high gear.