NOW SHE TELLS US - AT 5:23 P.M. ET:  Hillary Clinton sends the latest in a series of confusing signals coming from Washington about talks with Iran.  From AP:

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says the United States has no illusions that Iran will accept overtures to return to negotiations about its nuclear program and will not wait much longer for Tehran to respond.

Both Clinton and national security adviser James Jones said in interviews aired Sunday that Washington has little choice but to deal with the government of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, regardless of U.S. feelings about charges he was re-elected in a fraudulent election and sympathy for the thousands who have protested the outcome.

And...

Clinton said the United States would re-evaluate its efforts to entice Iran back to the negotiating table in September.

''We are under no illusions. We were under no illusions before their elections that we can get the kind of engagement we are seeking,'' she said in an interview with CNN's ''GPS.''

''The president has also said, look, we need to take stock of this in September. If there is a response, it needs to be on a fast track. We're not going to keep the window open forever,'' she said.

COMMENT:  This comes a few days after a leaked assessment by American intelligence that Iran won't have the bomb until 2013, a judgment that seems at odds with judgments by other intelligence agencies, which suggest a much closer date.

The issue again, though, is our policy after Iran defaults.  Do we have one?  Clinton says that we're not going to keep "the window open forever."  What window?  The window that simply leads to talks?  If the window closes, do we try for tougher sanctions?  The story says that we're working with the Security Council, plus Germany, on a set of new sanctions.  But what if the Russians and Chinese won't go along?

There is no clearly defined strategy, at least not one that's been made public.  A strategy would have to include the ultimate decision - a military strike.

August 9, 2009