What part of world superpower do these countries not understand?

The truth is that even the most powerful nation on earth has its limitations. Tangled in the aftermath of the Iraq war, Washington has had to tone down its tough talk against Pyongyang. In his Jan. 20 inaugural speech, President Bush said he hoped that the current six-nation disarmament talks could induce North Korea to stop producing nuclear weapons and di sarm.

On Wednesday, Pyongyang publicly acknowledged for the first time that it actually has nuclear weapons - two of them so far - and said it would not take part in further talks until "there are ample conditions and an atmosphere to expect positive results." The talks brought together North and South Korea, the United States, China, Russia, and Japan.

North Korea blamed the Bush administration's aggressiveness for forcing it to produce nuclear weapons. "We have manufactured nukes for self-defense to cope with the Bush administration's ever more undisguised policy to isolate and stifle (North Korea)," said Pyongyang's statement. Washington's response was positively conciliatory. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said there was "no reason to suppose that anyone wants to attack North Korea."

Rice was tougher on Iran on her tour of European capitals and the Middle East earlier this week, but her tough words served only to reveal the superpower's limitations.

The purpose of Rice's trip was to offer diplomatic olive branches to estranged U.S. allies in Europe, but she stressed that reconciliation did not extend to buying the EU's carrot approach to the ayatollahs. The European action is based on the promise of aid in exchange for abandoning their nuclear ambitions.

The Iranians, incidentally, deny that they are developing nuclear weapons and were enriching uranium for use in civilian reactors. They have temporarily suspended their nuclear fuel cycle program, and have also agreed to open all nuclear-related facilities to U.N. inspectors. At the same time, they have refused to give up what they call their legal right to develop an industrial nuclear program.

In an ironic replay of the pre-war debate on Iraq, the Bush administration wants to take the issue to the U.N. Security Council and impose sanctions against Iran if the temporary suspensi on is not made permanent.

Rice's vague talk of consequences if sanctions failed has left Europeans worried that Washington could be contemplating a U.S. military option - despite the fact that most analysts believe that U.S. or coalition military action against Iran is not feasible and carries risks of retaliation in the region.

The Security Council will not take up the issue unless and until the International Atomic Energy Agency certifies that Iran is manufacturing weapons of mass destruction. Even then, observers argue, Russia and China are almost certain to block any U.N. sanctions against Iran. But it's what happens in the ensuing stalemate that is most worrisome.

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