Don't attack Iran
Dear Friends, Just as we're winding down the disastrous and unnecessary war in Iraq, the very same people who misled our nation into invading Iraq are now saying that now we need to attack Iran. Make no mistake, a war with Iran would be a monumental disaster. Numerous policy experts have stated that attacking Iran will only serve to harden Tehran's resolve to obtain nuclear weapons, while dragging America into yet another war that would cost trillions of dollars and far too many lives. Yet the Republican presidential frontrunners, taking a page out of John McCain's "Bomb, Bomb, Bomb Iran" playbook, have all recklessly boasted of their willingness to attack Iran if elected.1 And if that's not scary enough, President Obama has pointedly and repeatedly refused to take a military strike off the table.2 Tell President Obama, Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich: Don't attack Iran. Click here to automatically sign the petition. We remember too well in the lead up to the Iraq War the hysteria about weapons of mass destruction and how neoconservatives promised it would be a "cakewalk." There are disturbing parallels between that time period and where we find ourselves today. While there are no easy solutions to addressing the challenges we face with Iran, it is imperative that we push back on the ever increasing calls for war with Iran. All the saber rattling about attacking Iran is happening even though the most recent National Intelligence Estimate says that Iran may have no intention of actually building a nuclear weapon.3 The belligerent rhetoric and blatant propaganda aside, diplomatic avenues are still viable. As two former U.S. ambassadors wrote recently in a Washington Post OpEd:4 History teaches that engagement and diplomacy pay dividends that military threats do not. Deployment of military force can bring the immediate illusion of "success" but always results in unforeseen consequences and collateral damage that complicate further the achievement of America's main objectives. Deploying diplomats with a strategy while maintaining some pressure on Iran will lower Tehran's urgency to build a bomb and reduce the danger of conflict. We have a moral imperative to avoid wars of choice, and even in the amoral terms of national interest it's not hard to see how rashly attacking Iran would likely be completely counterproductive. We can't wait for the first bombs to drop. We need to speak out now. Tell President Obama, Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich: Don't attack Iran. Click below to automatically sign the petition: http://act.credoaction.com/r/?r=5532040&id=34782-487510-%3DTNSl0x&t=9 Thank you for speaking out. Matt Lockshin, Campaign Manager CREDO Action from Working Assets 1. "GOP candidates say they may back attack on Iran nukes," David Jackson, USA Today, Nov. 12, 2011. 2. "No Israeli Decision on Iran Attack, Obama Says," Scott Shane, New York Times, Feb. 5, 2012. 3. "U.S. intelligence: Iran leaders reopened nuke debate," Mark Hosenball, Reuters, Feb. 17, 2012. 4. "Military action isn't the only solution to Iran," William H. Luers and Thomas R. Pickering, Washington Post, Dec. 30, 2012. |
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