Realistic approach

The Bush administration waited too long to take part in talks aimed at stopping Iran's quest for nuclear weapons. With less than six months remaining in President Bush's second term, the administration doesn't have much time to leave its mark on six-nation talks with Iran.

The nations - Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States - hope a meeting held Saturday in Geneva was the prelude to further negotiations. They gave Iran a two-week deadline to begin to suspend uranium enrichment or risk additional economic sanctions. Some analysts believe Iran is just a year or two away from developing a nuclear warhead.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice recently persuaded Bush to give diplomacy a try. While a negotiated agreement remains a long shot, the odds of success are better with the U.S. taking part.

Expectations of a breakthrough are low because of Tehran's record of stalling negotiations with Europeans. Talks that were supposed to wrap up in weeks continued on and off for years as Britain, France and Germany proposed economic incentives in exchange for a halt to uranium enrichment. Those incentives and three rounds of U.N. sanctions have failed so far to sway Tehran.

A U.S. role signals America is serious about resolving the stalemate without attacking Iran. Bush hasn't ruled out an attack but said it is the option of "last resort." Many policy analysts believe a U.S. attack on Iran would be a disaster, causing a deeply divided population to rally behind the unpopular Muslim clerics running the nation.

Furthermore, the last thing the United States needs is a third war. Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, called for a "broad dialogue" with Iran, noting that a military strike against Iran would be "extremely stressful" on the overburdened U.S. forces. Not to mention on the American public.

The only viable option is continued international pressure on Iran.