Riding a fake horse
The public statements of Secretary of State Rice, collected in this piece by William Kristol, reflect a softness on Iran that one would expect from the Clinton administration. According to Kristol, however, that some of President Bush's supporters claim that the administrator's true position regarding Iran is tougher than Rice's statements suggest.
Unfortunately, as Kristol suggests, even as spun privately for the benefit of hard-liners, the administration's posture reeks of weakness. There are only two horses in this race -- a nuclear Iran and an attack against Iran's nuclear facilities. Those who back a third horse -- be it U.N. involvement or "tough" sanctions -- are engaging in a Clinton-style evasion.
