June 1, 2006:  Attempting to mollify skeptics who questioned the wisdom of both negotiating directly with the terrorist Iranian regime and offering it generous incentives, the New York Times reported that aides to Secretary of State Rice insisted that “the deal also commits China and Russia to a long list of specific steps to punish Iran if it refuses to halt its enrichment program.”

August 31, 2006:  The Wall Street Journal reports that the Bush administration officials are contemplating, at best, the proposal of low-level sanctions (such as travel restrictions on Iranian officials and curbs on dual-use technology trade), and possibly doing so outside the UN Security Council framework, because there is no commitment by China and Russia to sanctions, much less specific steps to punish Iran for refusing to halt its enrichment program.