We must uphold the Iran nuclear agreement, but upholding it while pretending that Iran has a nuclear weapons program, or is threatening anyone, will not create a stable and lasting foundation for peace. Upholding an agreement with both proponents and opponents threatening war as an alternative is perilous as well as immoral, illegal, and — given the outcome of similar recent wars based on similar recent propaganda — insane.
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43 Responses
Please post your thoughts and reports on your actions here. Thanks! Peace!
Wake up! This so-called “deal” is nothing but a pretext to war, forced upon Iran by many of the same nations that in the past, created the conditions for the Islamic Revolution in the first place. Where’s the proof the White House is following a similar blueprint that led to the invasion of Iraq? Read the President’s own words. Obama penned an op-ed http://www.nj.com/opinion/index.ssf/2015/08/president_obama_iran_nuclear_deal_regardless_of_wh.html a few days ago. Basically, he is just echoing what his Secretary of Defense has been saying publicly. If nothing else, we should be alarmed by these chilling words:
“As Commander-in-Chief, I have not hesitated to use force when necessary. If Iran does not abide by this deal, it’s possible that we won’t have any other choice than to act militarily. But we cannot in good conscience justify a march toward war before we’ve exhausted diplomacy.”
Absolutely crazy! His own Intelligence Community has said they stopped their program way back in 2003. Defense Secretary Gates said the international sanctions have been effective, and that was in 2010. There is absolutely no justifiable basis for what Obama is saying. This is no different than what most Republicans and Democrats, both, were saying in the months leading up to the invasion of Iraq.
Yes the whole US govt is happy to threaten war and to promote the deal as good for war and oppose it as bad for war. The question is whether the deal actually makes war easier or harder, and we think that it clearly will make war (and murderous sanctions too) harder. The need to resist the push for a US war on Iran will of course continue.
You are being fooled by the greatest puppet masters of all time who know that we, including The Left, suffer from mass amnesia. The military industrial complex are beating the same drums as 2002. Or is it okay because Bush’s face has been replaced by Obama’s? They are just gradually co-opting whatever is left of the antiwar movement in this country by pretending to want “diplomacy”. You will all breathe a big sigh of relief after Congress signs off on the deal, when the stage will have been set for war. All it will take is 1 or 2 lies spread around of Iranian deal breaking, or an “incident” orchestrated by the neocons. If we sink to their level and accept lies as the basis for “peace” then we are no better than the warmongers. That is their job to lie; We must take the opposite stance and side with the truth. I repeat: Wake Up
Myself and World Beyond War are aware of the itchy trigger finger that many here have, wanting to find Iran in any real or trumped up (much more likely) violation so as to justify military or more covert action against Iran, its people and government.
Nonetheless, the Iran deal, as negotiated, needs support to pass. For it to fail will be worse than what you’re preaching (rather angrily) at the choir about.
Choosing the lesser of two evils is not always a good choice. In this case, I think it makes sense. We promote it eyes and mouths open, and will do what we can to keep any forthcoming false charges against Iran from going unchallenged.
Are you actually advocating that Congress vote it down as a way out of the trap you articulate? That seems to make a lot less sense than signing WBW’s letter and remaining vigilant.
No doubt the neo-cons and humanitarian war fighters will continue to try and make war on Iran. This agreement does not end that. Does it make the job of those seeking diplomatic solutions easier? Only if we realize this is not the final victory but one requiring vigilance.
Diplomatic relations need to continue to build. The US needs to start seeing Iran in reality not in a false characterchure. And those who seek de-militarization of the US have a lot of work to do to weaken the US war culture.
There is no final solution there is only ongoing work toward our goals.
Legislators who scoff at negotiations are old, cynical, tired people who should retire from office. No sure things are possible in this world, but negotiations are always possible and should be tirelessly pursued.
No, Iran has never attacked the US, US Embassy’s, or any of that ilk… But, Iran has financed, trained, equipped and directed Terrorist activity more than any other nation…
That is what should’ve been included in this Bullshit nuclear deal… Iran will build nukes, and terrorists will receive them, and we will reap that reward soon, and in spades!
I wouldn’t recommend an agreement with any country, including the United States, that excluded anytime, anywhere inspections for the nuclear activity it is supposed to prevent.
That Iran deal would allow Iran and only Iran to inspect itself and continue
developing intercontinental ballistic missiles.
It would make anytime, anywhere inspections impossible.
Iran has violated over 20 international agreements.
We can’t trust them to keep this one.
Just in case you didn’t notice, Iranian decision makers are not nice guys.
They banned one of my favorite singer’s recordings because they had a problem with the cover picture.
Trustworthy people do not engage in such pettiness.
I’ve been echoing these sentiments regularly. We are bullying a nation that hasn’t done anything wrong — and certainly nothing fractionally as much as America has. But the U.S. makes it sound like it has a moral right to decide who can arm and who can’t, because to it, might makes right. Such things are the domain of the U.N., which the U.S. should support and not undermine. Meanwhile, the U.S. is nuked up to the teeth. The immense hypocrisy of it all seems to be lost on most Americans, so many of whom are busy gearing up for a new football season, such are their priorities. And then there is the issue of Israel, America’s regional sub-bully that it has armed to the teeth. A country led by a madman. There is so much that’s wrong with all this it’s insane. Only the people, constantly agitating, can force change.
Exactly.
Thank you.
The U.N.? Ha! The UN is merely a tool to rubber stamp the imperialist agendas of the Security Council members. They proved that in early 2003. Remember? Maybe at one time in its history, their role was that of peace maker. I can’t think of one offhand…
Kudos for mentioning the ouster of popularly elected leader Mohammad Mosaddegh; it is the first instance of it I have noted, and it’s critical. It is more than fair to ask whether this developed nation, with an extremely lengthy, proud history, would today be led by religious leaders if the West had not intervened as it did.
The original US-Iranian relations sin.
Wars are useful for weapon sellers and military industry. And this is the reason because there is never a serious Agreement or treaty.
But of course many wars are prevented, and often by very imperfact alternatives that are nonetheless infinitely preferable.
Your online piece is right about the lies!
What has happened to the media in this country???
We cannot–in terms of troops, treasure, and the truth–afford this war. The American people would soon learn the truth of this, and even those in power who want the war–and will make a lot of money from it–will have to be more transparent and accountable than they were with the Iraq Invasion. It will all catch up with them–much to the detriment of the country. This world is changing fast. Americans must–and will–learn that. I can’t speak for our politicians.
If we continue preventing this war that’ll never register as a big news story, but we will know what we did and how many lives it was worth.
Dumb. We are not preventing war by supporting this deal. We are putting off the inevitable because there is no Anti-war Movement putting their energy and heart into lobbying for an alternative that assures peace. When both sides say nuclear weapons are the greatest threat, the we cannot continue to support a leader who uses the threat of nuclear holocaust to pressure countries into signing deals. When will we take a principled and practical stand against the status quo???
Do you have an organization to suggest? Or a link to your (pick a number) point plan?
WBW doesn’t see this as the be-all and end-all. Lots needs to be done.
Sometimes it feels like grabbing at straws, admittedly, but we could use more good straws to grab at. WBW has dedicated, long-term disarmament activists as part of its organizing team. I/We know how wrong US policy toward Iran going back more than 60 years, including the current push.
You’re sounding like the critics of the deal who were rejecting it saying that Kerry should get a better deal. It isn’t clear what it is you actually want done instead of what some of us are trying to do.
You are asking me to support the Obama Administration and trust their good intentions on this most critical of foreign policy issues. Since when is it the role of peace activists to support war criminals in their mischievous schemes disguised as “diplomacy”? All 3: the President, the Secretary of State, and the Defense Secretary today are preaching the same mantra – that there is ‘no choice’ for a real peace based on the elimination of nuclear weapons in the Middle East, and around the world; and for a lessening of tensions by reducing and then eliminating the arms sales to corrupt and violent regimes. They take the exact opposite position and thus the status quo guarantees an unstable political environment that will only lead to more false crises such as the tales that have been spun about Iran by the Neocons. Worst of all, the Democrats you are championing just echo the exact same false choice that WAR and ONLY war is the alternative to their “deal”. True peace activists need to organize and stand above the fray. Our role is to guide people everywhere on the path of a genuine peace. We already have that message but instead of shouting it Truth to Power, we are instead wasting our time and energy supporting one party over another, as if the Democrats have the exact opposite intentions of their Republican counterparts when it comes to foreign policy. They don’t and there is plenty of evidence to demonstrate that fact. Our message as a Movement can and should be simple: Deals predicated on Lies lead to Wars based on Lies.
Sup(port) the troops
Give shield not sword
steadfast at your shore
For if troops follow profit
the flag will always follow
As where the flag goes
terrorism always drones
to where the violence roams
death and destruction bellows
Chickens will then come home to roost
blowback on your shore
what you give your neighbor
expect to karma back in spades
How could you expect otherwise
as you export terrorism
for corporate gain
exceptionalism above the rain
So well said! Gracias..
Please to all: know that All peaceful actions, thoughts, feelings, count. Be peaceful within, and practice peace outwardly.
We might need this as a video!
Dulce Et Decorum Est III & A Taste of Armageddon
(Or the Empire has no Clothes but a Disposition Matrix)
In due homage
to Horace, Owen & Mikhail
i humbly nod
for how sweet & glorious
it must be to kill or die
for God & country
via pompous duty
asphyxiatingly-wrapped
in ersatz honor
and a fools pride
so c’mon kiddies,
any up for good jingo sport?
who’s hungry & poor,
who wants to play
the hubris ‘anything for profit’ killing game?
As newspapers rah rah
pied piper patriotism
with journalistic integrity
star spangled objectivity ha ha!
as a new battle/fear lies just around the corner
& armed forces day just weeks away hooray!
rally loyal citizens
to whitewash warm innocuous blood
off disgraced musket & sullied polluted flag
strike up the marching parade
manifest destiny down main street usa hurrah!
Awaken & open thine eyes
chauvinistic folk
come & see
your overseas deeds of nefarious brutality
You’re liable
for this appalling
tax-paid supported violence
exported to hamlets & villages
Assaulting families
who’ve never
did you any harm
in lands you’ve never heard of
nor care less for
so step on up
one & all
Take a trip
to the overflowing morgues
filled with small smashed bodies
once toddlers
full of laughter & life
Deeply inhale
the rancid stench
of scorched flesh
crispy burnt
to a black bubbly mass
by phosphorus
Gaze into doll dead eyes
frozen forever
by shock & awe
renditioned
via your God blessed terror from overhead
From atop a cold gurney
a stiff finger of a tiny hand
amidst a mish-mosh of mangled flesh
bulls-eyed at you war supporters
Watch
as grief-stricken father’s
zombie-wander
in shattered silence
sifting through ragged debris
devastating destruction
searching
for lost sons
missing daughters
Discovering
ripped wet mangled body parts
strewn out as pieces of a human jig-saw puzzle
taking home
the ear, the hand, the foot
to be quietly buried
while 6000 miles away
heroes giggle and snicker
calling this crime against humanity
‘bugsplat’
Harken
to the heart-piercing shrieks
as soul-torn asunder mothers
wail like howling wild animals
as they find their loves buried
broken & bloody
in the rubble
of your glorious works
Then if you can
please explain
to the unresponsive moaning
neonatal orphan
why your armed forces
just murdered his parents
by accident
then wave a condolence payment
like juicy enticement in his face
Celebrate
as your special op-forces
silently & quickly
dig out bullets
from civilian bodies
to cover their tracks
from being at the wrong address
again
Declare as a national holiday
murdered women at a bridal shower
or when
4 kids are droned to smithereens
while tending sheep
rejoice
in exported evil exploits
as great american victories
for which your war crimes always are
Trust flim-flam,
the PR propaganda spin
from subjective mass media
obey leaders and church bosses
pay your taxes
which finances anglo-terrorism
through illegal & immoral aggressive violence
Raise your filthy faux flag
higher higher ever higher
to cover the rising pile where the butchered lie
however
dear good christian citizens
no civic rag
could ever soar over
the sick slaying of the innocent
Consider Fallujha
surrounded & caged
as the cowering cringing unarmed civilian inhabitants
are shot, burned & barbequed
like slaughtered sitting ducks
in a ‘free-fire zone’ shooting gallery
Ponder
upon your sanctimonious attack
at a school in Bajour
where 69 children are massacred by joystick
as you deceive yourself
into believing
it did not happen
washing your hands
turning as you walk away
This is Sand Creek
Wounded Knee
My Lai
Haditha
too many other mass-media
contorted & distorted great triumphs
To whit
no doubt in my mind
the next war crime called
a ‘battle’
or a ‘humanitarian bombing’
will be patriotically anointed too
sanctioned of course
ta ta
Tell it!
The REAL litmus test of good faith in the Iran Deal should be applied to both sides of the table – and unfortunately both sides will fail the test! The litmus test, waiting to be applied at any time, actually has a name. It is the concentration camp near Bagdad officially called “Camp Liberty.”
The test:
Ask the U.S. government if they will live up to their promise to protect the lives and liberty of the 2500 Iranian refugees living in Camp “Liberty” – and you will hear a miserable story of failure; the U.S. has not made any serious attempt to live up to that official promise (the United Nations made the same promise and has also failed to live up to it).
Ask the Mullahs in Teheran? They will fail the test even more abysmally. They are responsible for the murder of at least one hundred refugees in “Liberty” (through the cowardly work of their lackies in Bagdad) and are glad to see the persecution of those unarmed captives continue unabated. The Mullahs have clearly all the power necessary to stop the suffering in “Liberty” immediately – but would they do it?
If the Mullahs in Teheran would accept the challenge and free “Liberty” – then the whole world would know: They are trustworthy.
WHO WILL MAKE THE TEST PUBLIC? WHO WILL TAKE THE FIRST STEP?
There are in fact dozens of demands one could make of Iran, but not under an illegal immoral counterproductive and catastrophic threat of war!
“War is indigenous to capitalism.” Karl Marx.
_________________________
”An innocent soldier is one who refuses to fight wars of aggression.” – Ozcan
An innocent soldier is one who refuses to fight wars.
An innocent soldier is one who refuses to fight.
A soldier becomes a conscientious objector.
There is no soldier.
2012 – a.c.
yes
Neutralize the Zionazis from Zer0bama to NetOnyahoo! STOP their penultimate PNAC attack, preliminary to World War III on Eurasia!! Fall back from “Lebensraum” Nuland’s Megiddo front; Ukraine to the Horn of Africa!!!
\,,/, & ☮
The American public needs to be educated regarding the facts, to the extent the corporate owned media will permit this. The facts are these:
1) Iran claims not to be in pursuit of a nuclear weapon and neither the US nor anyone else has any proof that they are.
2) The Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) explicitly permits the development of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, which Iran claims is their intention.
3) Iran is a signatory nation to the NPT. Israel has refused to sign that treaty.
4) Israel has an estimated 200 to 400 nuclear devices and the systems in place to deliver them anywhere in the Middle East. Most or all of this hardware has been supplied by the United States.
5) The hawks in our government that are beating the war drums are totally aligned with and supported by groups like AIPAC, a powerful Israili lobby. Benjamin Netinyahu holds such sway in our political system that he can directly address congress.
It is time for the people of this nation to wake up to the fact that our best interests are not being served by many of our elected representatives. Through propaganda by a media increasingly under the control of the oligarchy, we are being led by the nose down a very dangerous path. If the events of the last decade in particular don’t make this clear, nothing else will.
‘Man is a mad animal’.
We agree with this statement and title of a play (Marat/Sade), and can only hope that the threat of total annihilation resulting from some ‘mad animal’ pushing the button will somehow be avoided. Perhaps with modern communications we can continue to reason with other nations when serious disagreements arise, and spread the word that complete destruction of our civilization is a definite possibility if we continue to fall under the influence of the military propaganda/war machine that is in the business of seeking ways to self perpetuate itself and grow wealthier through selling the means of mass killing and destruction.
HOLD-ON AMERICA! The Ancient Country of IRAN (Persia, in Our language) SHOULD-BE the USA’s “Best-Ally” in the “Middle East”! The IRANIAN “Peshawar” WAS an Ally of Nazi Germany in WWII. “HE” Wasn’t REAL-POPULAR W/his Shiite Iranian “Subjects” and “WE BEAT HITLER”! The IRANIAN “People” OVERTHREW “Their Shiite Peshawar” and INSTALLED Their-Own; Republican, Popularly-Elected Government and SHIITE President after WWII. THEY “ASKED” The United States of America to be the FIRST Country to “Recognize” IRAN! The USA “WAS” (And STILL-IS) an “Ally-of” the SUNNI ARABS in Saudi Arabia, and TRUMAN, “Said NO”! TRUMAN “STOLE” the US Army Intelligence Branch (The OSS) from DOD & Made-Up his “OWN” CIA. OUR “CIA”, TRUMAN “WAS Gone”, under FDR (and Alan Dulles) OVERTHREW The Iranian Peshawar (Legally-Elected by IRANIAN CITIZENS)and “INSTALLED” OUR-OWN Sunni-Arab SHAH in 1954! DD Eisenhower “ALMOST” FIRED Dulles, but the USSR “Had-The-BOMB” and ESSO “HAD” The Sunni ARABS!
ENOUGH SAID???
In IRAN, A Woman “Could-Be” President! The Present Iranian President said, meeting W/ President Obama, “In the NEXT 20 Years”? Well, I Like (I Think) the Iranian President, BUT; It “HAS BEEN” A LONG-TIME since The United States of America, “HAD A WOMAN” President!
REMEMBER, The USA, “IS IRAN’s Great Satan” (Thanks-to Our CIA), AND “WE”, The United States of America, “HAS-THE-BOMB”! Would you rather Saudi Arabia “GOT-THE-BOMB” FIRST? Iran can PROBABLY “MAKE” Their OWN “BOMB” Pretty Easily RIGHT NOW!
THIS “Agreement” WITH Iran “WOULD-BE” Obama’s GREATEST LEGACY, so Republicans “DON’T LIKE-IT”. BUT Some Great Republicans (Sen. John McCain comes-to-mind) probably KNOW it’s a “GREAT-POSSIBILITY”!
It DOES “Come-With” Risks. SO DOES ANYTHING! But WITHOUT “This Agreement” Iran WILL HAVE a Nuclear Weapon, WHENEVER “THEY” WANT-IT! MAYBE; Iran is SMARTER-THAN “We are”?
SIGN ONTO THE “AGREEMENT”! WAKE-UP and Smell the “TOAST BURNING”!
Passing and sticking to the nuclear deal with Iran
will not only help to lower tensions in the Middle
East. It will also help us lower tensions and violence
here at home. We need to start diminishing our fears
of other people. This deal and following up on this
deal will help us do that.
“sticking to the nuclear deal” Hey, guess who else is using that very same language? The Hawks who want war, but they just express a little more patience in how it eventually comes about. Do not be mistaken: these are the same stupid white men who hold responsibility for a disastrous war over a decade ago. They also put the burden on a poor country to stick to a nuclear deal which was in reality a take-it-or-leave-it Pax Americana-style extortion. Of course, they never had any intention to act in good faith themselves (Bush, Cheney, Rice et al) and the Democrat leadership knew this full well when they supported Bush Inc. in 2002. Why should we, as peace activists, be just as stupid? NO. The fact is, with our blind support of Obama now, we are making it very easy for the NEOCONS to invent the same false excuses, forge documents, manipulate the press, and spin the next “terrorist” false flag event to pin the blame on Iran. And where does that leave us? No where and devoid of credibility because we assured the people that this deal was signed with the intention of arriving at “Peace in Our Time” Rubbish!
I HOPE you READ MY “LAST” COMMENT; CAREFULLY!WANNA See my FIRST Draft Card? IT is a “1H”! And NO, Uncle Walter (Cronkite)pulled MY B’Day # 305(? I don’t-Know, I “WAS DRUNK”!) OUT-OF “HIS” Top Hat. One-of MY BEST FREINDS was #5. HIS Name is on MY WALL, in DC! It’s TIME the USA Started being “AMERICA”. The FACT, That Rep. Boehner (The Republican SPEAKER of the HOUSE) “Invited” an Israeli Prime Minister (ASSHOLE “BIBI”) to Address the United States Congress W/O at least “ASKING” OUR PRESIDENT? That, in MY Opinion, is HIGH TREASON!
ENOUGH SAID! PS; I “Do-Vote” Republican SOMETIMES. I “AM” an American!
this agreement is critical to the future Peace and stability of our Global Village.
Threatening War and extermination is NOT the way to preserve or build Peace. For the sake of ALL Earth’s children we, as responsible adults, must dedicate ourselves to providing A PEACEFUL FUTURE FOR THEM. that is the best legacy we can leave. Without it, the future for all species and the Earth itself, will be “grim, nasty and short” (per the social philosopher Thomas Hobbes)
(Mrs.) Eryl Court, senior citizen; peace activist and researcher, Toronto, Canada
Israel controls our government through its powerful lobby, AIPAC. Until that organization is forced by the Justice department to register under FARA, any effort to conduct a Middle East police benefiting the U.S. will be futile.
As long as people like Senators Schumer and Menendez accept huge amounts of campaign money from “Israel-friendly” donors nothing will change.
it would help heaps if the US stopped arming everybody in the Middle East. The Gulf States, the Saudis, Israel, Egypt and left them to their own devices. And stopped the funding behind this insanity.
The Americans can do us all a mighty favour by reducing it’s huge defence budget and spending it instead on public services and alleviating poverty and by lending a hand to a world food programme abroad for instance.
It is all about political will and priorities.
enough of all these needless wars and bloddletting. Iran.is not a threat to global peace and stabilitty. My cndid advise to US senators and government officials is to give this peace deal a chance
Sure it will pass Congress and the Administration will give it one, maybe 2, chances. They will falsely accuse Iran and demand they prove a negative; proclaim that we acted in good faith and assert we are “good” because war was a Las resort; while all the while preparing the bombs and the missiles. Look up Hitler and Poland while you’re at it