So here's the paradox. There's a growing consensus that a military
strike on Iran would be disastrous while at the same time the likelihood of
such a disaster is also increasing.
Please
take a moment to sign Peace Action's petition calling on the President to use
all means at his disposal to prevent a military strike on Iran - by either the
US or Israel. Then, please send it to your friends.
The third round of talks between Iran and the permanent five members of the
U.N. Security Council plus Germany, or P5+1 ended without a major
breakthrough. Given the level of mutual distrust that's not
surprising. Anyone who thought the talks could succeed simply by dropping
a take-it-or-leave-it-demand on the table doesn't understand diplomacy.
Last week, 44 U.S. Senators sent a letter to President Obama urging him to
consider abandoning further negotiations with Iran "and instead focus on
significantly increasing the pressure on the Iranian government through
sanctions and making clear that a credible military option exists."
You would hope our 'leaders' had learned their lesson. The unintended
consequences that plagued the U.S. military in Iraq and Afghanistan are surely
at play with regard to Iran. An attack on Iran would send energy prices
through the ceiling and reverberate throughout the vulnerable global economy.
Earlier this year, Peace Action,and our allies at Credo, turned in over 70,000
signatures to President Obama and I'm convinced it helped steel him and his
administration against the war cries from AIPAC and war hawks in the U.S.
Now, the pressure is mounting again.
Sign
our petition to prevent a war with Iran that would surely have unintended
consequences no one can either predict or prevent once they begin.
Diplomacy takes time and patience. The cost of war is measured in blood and
treasure.
A Tuesday article in the Christian Science Monitor by Howard
LaFranchi summed up the situation well:
"The P5-plus-1 world powers...had three basic demands, which they summarized as
"stop, shut, and ship:" To address international concerns that it is amassing
the elements of a nuclear bomb, Iran should stop enriching uranium to
20-percent purity, a level not far from weapons-grade; shut its underground
nuclear facility at Fardow; and ship its stockpile of 20-percent-enriched
uranium out of the country.
On its side, Iran had two key demands: that the international community
recognize Iran's right to enrich uranium under the nuclear non-proliferation
treaty, and that world powers (specifically the US and the EU) agree to soften
economic sanctions on Iran as an inducement for Iran to accept certain limits
on its nuclear program."
The problem in a nutshell is the U.S. is insisting Iran fold on all three
demands as a condition for further negotiations giving Iran nothing in
return. For its part, Iran is also taking a hard line, insisting the P5+1
acknowledge its right to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes without providing
for the verification required to satisfy the West's concerns about the peaceful
nature of its nuclear program.
Given time, these matters can be resolved and the world can be
made a much safer place. But first, we need to get between the President
and those who won't be satisfied unless Iran knuckles under completely.
Help me generate thousands of signatures over the next two weeks
to counter the renewed sabre-rattling.
Please
take a moment to sign Peace Action's petition calling on the President to use
all means at his disposal to prevent a military strike on Iran - by either the
US or Israel.
Humbly for Peace,
Kevin Martin
Executive Director
Peace Action