Associated Press is reporting that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is considering new policies that would allow more dialogue with the ruling Junta of Myanmar, but the U.S. government stressed that sanctions will be still in place until progress for democracy is made.

This change of policy is a reflection of the overall diplomatic strategy of the Obama administration. While the previous Bush administration focused on isolating rouge nations, the current administration is more focused on at least getting the diplomatic channels open.

This does not mean the U.S. is conceding any grounds against these repressive regimes, however. I think we will enter into a speedier path to democratization in these countries if we use the carrot and stick strategy, instead of waiting for the freedom movement within these individual nations to overthrow the current regimes.

In the short term, it might appear that we are losing ground in terms of winning over these repressive governments, but these types of situations have a long term horizon. Due to the level of repression in Myanmar, I doubt (with sadness) that the opposition movements might have enough power to overthrow the current government themselves.