You're presuming we're sending in a "desk jockey" and not an experienced diplomatic officer, of which, I admit, there are little to none on the ground. What I'm trying to illustrate is that the full bird, even if he has the authority to give the sheik everything he wants, is STILL negotiating from the occupier's position... and I argue that even the tactical gains he may make with the sheik are meaningless in terms of the larger ideological loss demonstrated by images of American soldiers "offering" things of value to "the occupied."
But I see what you're saying in terms of the leader-on-leader interactions.
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