Part 4 of a 5-part series... 2011-to present: Burma-US Relations, Its Complicated:... "Western sanctions did not cause Burma?s economic—and strategic—fall into the hands of the Chinese, as many foreign observers have argued. But Western policies certainly made it easier for China to implement its designs for Burma. This, in return, caused some in the West to criticize a policy of isolating Burma and ?handing it over to China.” These concerns were outlined as early as June 1997 in a Los Angeles Times article by Marvin Ott, an American security expert and former CIA analyst. ?Washington can and should remain outspokenly critical of abuses in [Burma]. But there are security and other national interests to be served?it is time to think seriously about alternatives,” Ott concluded. But the turn took some doing. Between 2000-2008, the George W. Bush administration?s bipartisan Burma policy not only maintained sanctions put in place by Congress during the Clinton administration but added new ones in an attempt to support Burma?s democratic forces. In the wake of the 2007 Saffron Revolution?s popular uprising and the regime?s disastrous response to Cyclone Nargis in 2008, the Bush administration did seek to take advantage of additional space to support civil society on the ground by expanding humanitarian assistance and other programs inside the country, but overall it maintained a hard line against the regime?s leadership..."