[Dialogue] Effort to prevent war with Iran

[R Williams]

I have a friend who is a civilian employee of the Army & Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES) who returned a few months ago from an extended tour in Iraq.  He says the talk he heard is that Bush has been planning from the beginning to use Iraq as a staging area to attack Iran.

While I don't doubt his word, I have a hard time believing that anyone, even someone like a Dick Cheney, could make an agrument for such a move that has any hint of rationality, even if all you cared about was the security of the U.S.  Furthermore, how could Iraq, given the way the war has gone, be considered the staging area for anything?  This country needs to get back to a policy of banning preemptive strikes.

Randy



----- Original Message ----
From: Jim Rippey <jimripsr at qwest.net>
To: Colleague Dialogue <dialogue at wedgeblade.net>
Sent: Wednesday, October 24, 2007 4:58:20 PM
Subject: [Dialogue] Effort to prevent war with Iran


I received an alert from Move On this afternoon about a major effort to prevent war with Iran . The proposal sounds good so I immediately sent a contribution.   
Here are excerpts:
“So today we're proposing a major campaign to expose the danger of a new war with Iran (see below for details). It'll cost about $200,000, and if we can raise the money, we'll start today. Can you chip in $50?
https://pol.moveon.org/donate/irandonate.html?id=11488-3915236-i42mfs&t=2
War would be a disaster. Military officials who've gamed-out a war with Iran say it's a very, very bad idea. " Iran would hit back against US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan and activate terrorist allies in the Middle East , further destabilizing a region already struggling with two major wars."2  US troops in the region, Israelis and American civilians abroad and at home would all be at risk.
And it's a real possibility.  For months, there's been a stream of leaks and revelations by former Bush administration officials that paint a scary picture: Vice President Cheney and the neocons are quietly maneuvering us toward war with Iran —just as they did with Iraq.3,4
We can't run the risk that they're crazy enough to do it. That's why it's so important that we make sure policymakers understand the cost of war, and we pressure Congress not to roll over on Iran . If we can raise the money today, here's what we'll do:
A number of top retired generals and military experts are willing to say publicly that attacking Iran would be a strategic disaster. We'll put them on tour to speak to political leaders, editorial boards and big audiences. 
We'll run ads challenging the Bush administration and key presidential candidates—and remind people that the last time we heard many of these phony arguments was in the lead-up to war with Iraq. 
We'll commission polling to show wavering politicians that if they stand up against war with Iran , the public will stand with them. 
We'll run a major grassroots campaign urging Congress to confront the administration on Iran . 
None of us know how likely a strike against Iran really is. But I'm going to do more than just hope it doesn't happen. The signs and signals have become too glaring. We have to act.
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I’ll send the full article if anyone want it.  The above is about half of it.   Jim Rippey in Bellevue , NE

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