Originally posted by Turnbull:
More important: by sucking up to Roth, he bought precious time to protect himself and his family. His guiding principle, as he told Hagen before he left, was: think as those around you think.
By visiting Roth in Miami, by affirming that their deal was still good, and most important, by agreeing to go to Havana, Michael was helping Roth to find a reason to keep him alive until then, and to leave his family alone.
It was the embodiment of "Keep your friends close but your enemies closer". That was Michael's creed and he played it out to the fullest.
