All part of the plan

As usual, the US went into a meeting about sanctions on Iran talking tough:

UnderSecretary of State Nicholas Burns said deliberations among the major powers on what to do about Iran had been going on for far too long.

"It's time for Russia and it is time for China to agree a sanctions resolution. We need to send a strong message," he told reporters in Brussels at a meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

As usual, the US got nothing:

Diplomats from six world powers failed on Tuesday to agree on a draft resolution for a sanctions plan on Iran for its nuclear program, but major European nations said they wanted such a pact by the year's end.

While this might displease you or I or Condi, Gareth Porter at the Asia Times speculates that Cheney will be pleased:

According to an article by the neo-conservative Lawrence F Kaplan in The New Republic on October 2, aides to Cheney have been convinced from the beginning that Rice's Iran strategy would not be an obstacle to their own plans because they knew it would fail.

The aides to Cheney insisted that the administration was not yet prepared politically for a shift to the military track, according to Kaplan. But once Rice's diplomatic effort becomes a highly visible failure, Cheney and his allies in the administration are poised to begin the process of ratcheting up pressure on Bush to begin the political planning for an eventual military attack on Iran.

The Europeans are now saying that maybe by the end of the year an epiphany will occur and Russia and China will sign up for their proposal. Temporizing is all they (and Condi) have left. How long is Cheney willing to wait?