Published by South End Press . The basic reasoning about diplomacy is stated clearly in the internal record. For similar reasons, opposition to negotiations and diplomacy has been a characteristic US policy stance in Latin America and the Middle East, and remains so, as documented in extensive detail elsewhere.
Commentators assume as a matter of course that diplomacy is a threat to be avoided.
The principle is considered uncontroversial, a truism, perhaps even more so than in the past. It is natural that those who are militarily strong but politically weak will prefer the arena of violence. Apparent exceptions typically reflect the failure of force or perceived advantage. The solemn obligation to pursue peaceful means is notable by its absence in affairs of state. It is part of the responsibility of the cultural managers in every society to cloak such facts in pieties about the high ideals and nobility of leaders, and to reshape the facts for public consumption.