David E. Sanger wrote in todays NYT
http://www.nytimes.com/... that Bush was forced by the real diplomats negotiating with Iran (Europeans and Japanese) to offer to engage directly with the Iranian government. So the president instructed Rice to offer to join talks with Iran if Iran first suspended its nuclear enrichment program. Some suspect that the offer was "intended to fail." David Brooks is certain that the offer was fake and celebrates this mendacity in his weekly Times column [no link because op-ed is offlimits to non-subscribers]. He thinks this move has put the Iranian government in a box and that their refusal to suspend enrichment will cause the security council to authorize sanctions. The Bush administration has no intention of negotiating with Iran. They have never had any intention of negotiating with Iran because they are still bent--despite the Debacle in Iracle, our overextended military, and our near-empty treasure--on enacting "regime change" in Iran.
Of course Russia and China will not allow meaningful sanctions and have said publicly that they will block any resolution that could later be used as a pretense for military action. Iran lies on Russia's border, and China needs Iranian oil.
Brooks is elated at the fake diplomacy because he thinks it indicates signs of life within the Bush administration--even if those signs are of a wounded animal crawling down a blind alley. Such is what passes for diplomacy--and punditry--in the Bush era.
Kudos for David Sanger for acknowledging that the offer wasn't for real.