Rice Key to Reversal on Iran

Rice returned to Washington with a sobering message: The international effort to derail Iran’s programs was falling apart. Her conclusion spurred a secret discussion among Rice, President Bush, Vice President Cheney and national security adviser Stephen J. Hadley: Should the United States finally agree to join the Europeans at the negotiations with Iran?

Though Bush administration officials had publicly always dismissed that possibility, officials at the highest levels — including Cheney, frequently but inaccurately portrayed as an adamant foe of joining the talks — realized that soon the administration would be forced to grapple with the question, five U.S. officials said in interviews last week. Otherwise, the options seemed to either be that Iran would get the bomb or the United States would be drawn into another war.

washingtonpost