Syrian troops backed by Russian warplanes completely surrounded fighters of the Islamic State group in a vast central desert region on Thursday, a monitoring group said.

The boycott of Qatar by its neighbors in the Gulf is expected to affect the rate of its growth, but if Qatar succeeds in easing the capital flight, it will not result in a severe, long-term recession. As most of the costs incurred in the retreat from integration among the countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council affect the longer term and will not create immediate pressure on the countries boycotting Qatar, it is reasonable to assume that the costs also will not play a central role in shaping their policies in the crisis. These assumptions do not contradict the assertion that continuation of the crisis could have structural effects on the region’s economy.

Last week, President Donald Trump directed U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to investigate, among other things, whether China’s laws, policies or practices were harming American intellectual property, innovation and technology. Undoubtedly, Ambassador Lighthizer will come back to the president with a straightforward (and unequivocal) answer: Yes; China is (and has been) robbing us blind.

History shows that bombastic rhetoric is often less dangerous than silence and appeasement.