Memories of spilled blood, be it Israeli or Palestinian, remain vivid in the hearts of both peoples. An immediate break in the hostilities is therefore more important than a chimerical long term capitulation.

Such last minute capitulation could mean resignation for the new Greek government and its replacement by EU approved technocrats, as in the constitutional putsch against Italy s Silvio Berlusconi in 2012. In a less extreme scenario, Varoufakis might be replaced as finance minister, while the rest of the government survives.

What is disturbing is the way in which some trade economists in Geneva and in Washington have capitulated to such propaganda, and regard capitulation by the WTO as a way to salvage and reshape the organization. The WTO, like a village during the Vietnam War, must be destroyed in order to be saved.

Contrary to what one might think, he does not have a real strategic vision of the world a shortcoming reflected in his quick capitulation in the face of opposition to his proposals. Obama often has a plan A, but never a plan B. When it comes to conducting a successful foreign policy, plan A is never enough.