I was thinking more of the State Department for BD. He seems to understand, as our State Department does not; that to show weakness before these "thug regimes" does not help the peace process along- it only invites more behavior of the sort that caused the problem in the first place. But it can never stop the behavior!
There was a line from the movie "Air Force One" that fits perfectly here: "If you give a mouse a cookie; he's going to want a glass of milk".