Neither man has said what he would do if diplomacy failed.

The Fox government seems ready to use politics where diplomacy has failed.

And if, finally, diplomacy should fail, the world will know whom to blame.

Should it be used as a last resort, if diplomacy fails?

It gave them a feeling for what their colleagues had to endure if diplomacy failed.

Plain talk and a united stand are never bad ideas, particularly when more conventional diplomacy has so far failed.

Nonetheless, there is a sense that the government must act if diplomacy fails.

But if diplomacy failed and there was a call for additional measures, including military operations, we would be prepared to do it.

But if diplomacy fails, we have to be prepared to act.

These are states that western diplomacy has failed to shape, but will now, it seems, seek to endorse.