In the 20th Century, the United States advanced its national interests by pragmatically cutting deals with regimes regarded as morally reprehensible.

We forged an alliance with Joseph Stalin during World War II. We tilted toward Maoist China to shift the balance of power in our favor during the Cold War. We did this despite Stalin and Mao slaughtering some 100 million of their own citizens. As morally objectionable as the two Communist tyrants were, few Americans questioned the soundness of cooperating with them. After all, our objectives were to defeat Hitler and win the Cold War.