It wasn’t always elegant, or dignified, but the policy of strategic acquiescence seemed to be working, *sort of*. #US arms kept flowing to #Ukraine, an all-out #trade war was averted & #Trump deigned to say some nice things about #NATO.
Then came the strikes on #Caracas, explosions that echoed in capitals around the world. Governments that spent years preaching #restraint, legality & #multilateralism found themselves scrambling for words to express unease without triggering #Trump’s fury.