Reports that the Bush administration may be planning a nuclear attack against Iran are alarming. A strong statement of opposition from the American public before that idea becomes credible is important. Please sign our petition and then alert your friends, family and colleagues by asking them to sign the petition >>>
We'll deliver your signature and comments to Congress as soon as they return from their spring recess.
The big question on all of our minds, of course, is whether the president really is willing to wage nuclear war with Iran. After the disastrous invasion and occupation of Iraq, would he really attack the much larger, much stronger, much better armed country next door with nukes?
As he did before Iraq, President Bush claims he's just pursuing a diplomatic route—but he still refuses to take nukes off the table. In the New Yorkerpiece, Seymour Hersh—who broke the Abu Ghraib story—quotes numerous administration and Pentagon officials who make very clear that war plans involving nukes are in the works.5
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Even a conventional attack would likely be a disaster. But just the threat of a nuclear attack could close off our best diplomatic options. Ironically, it would also increase pressure within Iran to create a full-fledged nuclear program—strengthening Iran's hard-liners. With most experts estimating Iran is 5 years or more away from having a nuclear weapon, there's time for a diplomatic solution.
And the consequences of an actual attack would be horrifying. The civilian deaths from a nuclear assault could be in the thousands or hundreds of thousands. According to a front-page article in the Washington Post, CIA experts believe Iran would almost certainly counter-attack through its terrorist network, Hezbollah.6 With 150,000 American troops right next door in Iraq, Iran would have what security experts call a "target rich" environment. Even Jack Straw, the British Foreign Sectrary, said that the nuclear option was "completely nuts."7
It's possible that all of this is bluster. Then again, that's what most people thought in the run up to the war in Iraq. It's like that old saying: "Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me." Our country can't afford to get fooled again.
Please take a moment to add your name to our petition to stop a nuclear attack on Iran. You can sign on now at:
http://political.moveon.org/dontnukeiran/?id=7311-5507947-d6RdMCKGZTE9M.AulnebrQ&t=4
The prospect of a nuclear attack is unsettling, to say the least. But there's real hope in the fact that this time, we are starting three million strong—and we're organized to raise our voices. With the president's historically low approval, and broad public understanding of the pattern of deceit, recklessness and incompetence in Iraq, our voices will be heard.
Sincerely,
–Eli, Joan, Nita, Marika and the MoveOn.org Political Action Team
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
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