Iran
Azadi (Freedom) Square, Tehran |
Press reports have indicated that the Bush Administration has made extensive and detailed preparations for military strikes against Iran, while the Administration in its public statements has refused to rule out a US military attack. Another unnecessary war could accelerate a cycle of warfare and terror that could plague the world for many years to come. Although Iran is believed by our own intelligence estimates to be ten years away from a nuclear weapon, the timetable for confrontation is being fitted to the upcoming U.S. election. A former official of the International Atomic Energy Agency told reporter Seymour Hersh: “there’s nothing the Iranians could do that would result in a positive outcome. American diplomacy does not allow for it.”
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Polling
- Recent polling: should the U.S. attack Iran?
PollingReport.com
Just Foreign Policy Articles on Iran
- Justifying War with Iran: A False Strategy for Nuclear Nonproliferation
by Patrick McElwee - Baker's Study Group is Good News for Iraq, But Could Be Bad for Iran
by Robert Naiman - Yes, It is Possible to Stop War with Iran
by Mark Weisbrot and Robert Naiman
The Iran Freedom Support Act
In September 2006, just before adjourning to prepare for the mid-term elections, Congress passed the Iran Freedom Support Act by large margins. The President signed it into law in October. This legislation wrote existing administrative sanctions against Iran into law and extended the sanctions to countries helping Iran with any part of its nuclear programs, even those allowed under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.
- Iran sounds an awful lot like Iraq
There is a disturbing sense of déjà vu in Washington’s actions and rhetoric.
Jon Sawyer, Los Angeles Times, October 29, 2006
Jon Sawyer is director of the Washington-based Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.
An embattled president, looming midterm elections, and overwhelming agreement, with scant debate or publicity, on legislation that set the nation on a path to war. It happened when the House and Senate voted for regime change in Iraq. Has it happened again, on Iran? Four weeks ago, Congress enacted and President Bush signed the Iran Freedom Support Act, a resolution very much in the spirit of the 1998 Iraq Liberation Act. It mandates sanctions against any country aiding Iran’s nuclear programs, even those to which that country is legally entitled under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.
The May 2003 Iran Peace Proposal
In 2003, in a secret memo to the U.S. government, Iran offered to make peace with Israel, oppose attacks by Palestinian groups on Israel within its 1967 borders, and pressure Hizbollah to become a peaceful political party. The Bush Administration refused to respond and continues to assert publicly that Iran wants to destroy Israel and sponsor terrorist groups. The offer, which likely still stands, directly contradicts those statements. Below is some press with more details. The episode calls into question the Administration's truthfulness and motives with regard to Iran.
- Iran Proposal to U.S. Offered Peace with Israel
Gareth Porter, Inter Press Service, May 25, 2006
audio (read by Carl Estabrook) - In 2003, U.S. Spurned Iran's Offer of Dialogue
Glenn Kessler, Washington Post, June 18, 2006 - A Negotiated Solution to the Iranian Nuclear Crisis is Within Reach
Noam Chomsky, Guardian (UK), June 19, 2006 - Kucinich, 70 Members of Congress, Send Letter To Bush Seeking Direct Diplomatic Negotiations With Iran
May 24, 2006
The Fleitz Report and the IAEA
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