Lacking the strength of any convictions or knowledge, Rice caves. Bruce http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087 <http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a34DdF5InGDM&refer=home > &sid=a34DdF5InGDM&refer=home Rice Affirms Offer to Talk to Iran, Sidesteps Nuclear Ban Terms By Janine Zacharia Sept. 12 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Iran must ``verifiably suspend'' nuclear enrichment activities for the U.S. to join talks led by European nations, without specifying whether the ban must be permanent at the outset. In a television interview today, Rice sidestepped a question on whether a temporary suspension would be adequate for the U.S. to engage Iran. ``I don't know what temporary means in this context,'' Rice told ABC News, according to a transcript released by the State Department. ``I do know that what Iran has been told through first, the International Atomic Energy Agency, and now through the Security Council, is suspend; suspend your activities and then negotiations can begin.'' Iran has sent conflicting signals on whether it would be prepared to halt uranium enrichment. Vienna's Kurier newspaper reported yesterday that Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, said suspension was possible. On Sept. 10 Iran's Foreign Ministry rejected requests to stop the country's uranium enrichment program, calling them a ``thing of the past.'' State Department spokesman Tom Casey told reporters in Washington today that there had been no change in the Iranian position, ``meaning they have not agreed to suspend uranium enrichment activities for any length of time that I'm aware of.'' Rice first offered on May 31 to hold talks with Iran if the government suspended uranium enrichment. Raising the concentration of the uranium-235 isotope can set the stage for nuclear power production, or at higher levels, help create a bomb. Incentives Package The suspension of enrichment is at the core of an incentives package drafted by permanent members of the Security Council and Germany. The U.S. and its allies want to prevent Iran from having the home-grown ability to produce a nuclear weapon. Rice said during a visit to Canada that she will discuss the Iran issue on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly next week in New York. Iran defied an Aug. 31 Security Council deadline to suspend enrichment. While the door remains open for U.S. engagement, Rice said the U.S. is focused for now on ``what kinds of sanctions would make sense under a Chapter 7 resolution.'' Openness to Engagement The U.S. has signaled its willingness to sit down with Iran, with which it severed ties following the taking of U.S. hostages in Tehran in 1979. Former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami was granted a visa to visit the U.S. last week and told audiences that there should be negotiations without conditions. So far Iran has not accepted the U.S. offer to talk about political stability in Iraq, another major concern of U.S. policy. The U.S. has repeatedly expressed concerns about alleged Iranian efforts to destabilize Iraq. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad promised to help create security in neighboring Iraq after talks with visiting Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki today. Iran will give its assistance ``to establish complete security in Iraq,'' Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying by the official Islamic Republic News Agency at a news conference with al-Maliki in Tehran. ``The existence of a unified and independent Iraq will benefit the region's security and progress,'' the Iranian leader added.
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