There was hype aplenty about an "opening of dialogue" when Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran's president, sent President Bush a letter; but in reality the missive was full of sound and fury signifying nothing.

There was hype aplenty about an "opening of dialogue" when Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran's president, sent President Bush a letter; but in reality the missive was full of sound and fury signifying nothing. Along rant against U.S. policy, it gave nothing on Iran's nuclear program, and was surely timed to distract attention from the meeting of the U.N. Security Council powers, plus Germany, to discuss Iran. That meeting didn't change anything either. France and Britain are still squeamish about the use of force. China and Russia are still squeamish about everything, including economic sanctions. And Condoleezza Rice has said that the U.S. will wait for the next European diplomatic overture to Tehran before pushing for another Security Council resolution. A short delay probably won't cost us much, but the U.S. should be prepared to do what it must--with or without U.N. blessing--to stop Iran's acquiring nuclear weapons.