The Oxford Dictionary defines the word “pivot” as “a movement in which the player holding the ball may move in any direction with one foot, while keeping the other (the pivot foot) in contact with the floor.”
In other words, even as you move in a new direction you don't abandon your existing position. This strategy makes good sense in the field of international diplomacy as well as on the basketball court. The term has been popularized by the Obama administration's intended reallocation of military and diplomatic resources to the Far East to address the rise of China, but it is also offers an instructive window into Washington's policy on Syria, where Washington is learning the hard way that it makes good sense to look before you leap.
