From my Middle East Guy on the idea that “pressure” and “sympathy” are the currency of the international realm:

Without addressing his point about torture, since you did that, I’m surprised that you didn’t crush him on his introductory point. ”Sympathy” and “pressure” are not the dynamics of international relations, except between civilized democracies. This is the type of idiocy that leads the Germans, French, et al., to apply “pressure” to Israel for knocking down houses while signing multi-million-dollar deals with the bloodsoaked regimes of Iran and the Sudan. Because “pressure” is “how things work.” And, oh, it turns out that many, many governments are nasty dictatorships that are totally impervious to external pressure because they don’t give a damn. What to do then? Close your eyes, whistle a happy tune, sell them some six-axis machine tools, and find some Americans to criticize. How’d that worldwide pressure work on Saddam? He was still taking dumps on gold toilets until the drove tanks into his front yard. How about China? Boy, they paid the price for Tiananmen Square, didn’t they? Man, we scowled at them. And now China’s a happy, frolicking land without slave labor and political executions!