There are limits to engagement, apparently. President Barack Obama this week extended sanctions on Syria that were passed by Congress and signed into law by then-President Bush in 2004. Obama's action comes the same week in which he sent two senior officials to Damascus to try to explore better relations with the government of President Bashar Assad.

That may seem a bit oxymoronic, and perhaps it is. But it also reflects Obama's--and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's--caution in reaching out to U.S. adversaries, Obama has gone full-bore in some cases, as with Iran, where the administration at times seems to be tripping over itself in its urgency to start a dialogue with Tehran. And there's no equivocation in Obama's general outreach to the Muslim world.

But with Syria and another country--Cuba--Obama and his team appear to be saying, in essence, the ball's in your court. They have made gestures to both countries, and are waiting to see if Syria and Cuba respond in kind.

 In a statement Friday, Obama said he extended the sanctions for 1 year because "the actions of the government of Syria in supporting terrorism, pursuing weapons of mass destruction and missile programs, and undermining U.S. and international efforts with respect to the stabilization and reconstruction of Iraq pose a continuing and unusual extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States."

That may well be true. But for the Assad regime, which just received the two presidential envoys, it's got to be a bit confusing--like a bad case of diplomatic whiplash.

The sanctions prohibit Syrian airlines from operating in the United States;  block Syrian with suspected terrorist links from accessing the U.S. financial system; and prohibit arms sales.