bt not giving them aid means they will more quickly totally collapse and realize they cannot compete with the rest of the world unless they become a capitalist democracy.
Trade sanctions may indeed be called for. But you don't "force" your allies to do anything. You convince them that it is in everyone's best interests. If we are going to be a world leader we must lead, not push. The value of MFN status is overestimated. No country in the world would go against it's own national interests for some trade perks. They can also retaliate in kind and collectively they could hurt us badly. The US is not in a good economic position to be starting trade wars. Our trade deficit is at an all-time high, the dollar is weak, Wall Street is weak, we have an unprecedented, dangerous National Debt and the Euro is slowly replacing the dollar as the international currency of choice in parts of the world. Any notion that America can go anywhere, anytime, and make demands of anybody for any reason we see fit is shortsighted, unrealistic, and not in our best interests. We cannot be a selfish bully and an effective world leader at the same time. We need a much smarter foreign policy than that. The carrot is as important as the stick, and often much more effective.
