It is up to the American people to put a stop to this madness BEFORE IT BEGINS.  We need to drown our representatives in Congress and the President with protests demanding that our government seek a peaceful diplomatic resolution, and that it exercise the considerable influence it has over Israel and other allies to prevent actions that will embroil the U.S. and all of the Middle East in another war.

H.R.  4173, the Prevent Iran from Acquiring Nuclear Weapons and Stop War Through Diplomacy Act would "direct the President of the United States to appoint a high-level United States representative or special envoy for Iran for the purpose of ensuring that the United States pursues all diplomatic avenues to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, to avoid a war with Iran, and for other purposes."

We need to make some noise and put the heat on Congress to prevent the disaster in the making from taking place. 

Click here to send an e-mail to your Member of Congress asking him or her to support H.R. 4173 and H.R. 780 or call their office toll-free a 877-429-0678.

Please ask your member in Congress to cosponsor  H.R. 780 to bring our troops home as rapidly as possible, if they are not already signed onto the bill.

The consequences of the use of armed force by either the U.S. or any of its allies will be tragic and severe not only for the Iranian people and the people of the Middle East, but also for the American people.

•   First, the unprovoked use of force against Iran without the sanction of the U.N. Security Council would be both a violation of the U.N. Charter and a war crime under international law.  Article 2, Section 4 of the U.N. Charter says,

"All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations."

•   The first casualties of a military attack would be Iranian civilians living in proximity to the targeted sites (or wherever missiles and bombs land that miss their target).  But Iran, unlike Iraq, has the military capability to retaliate with missiles that can reach most of the rest of the Middle East where civilians would also become casualties.

•   Iran has considerable influence and a large following throughout the MIddle East, including in places like Afghanistan where U.S. troops are stationed.  A military attack on Iran would trigger a wave of rage and anger across the region, with severe consequences not only for U.S. troops but also for Americans traveling or living in the region and businesses identified with the U.S.

•   U.S. intelligence agencies determined that Iran abandoned its nuclear weapons program years ago.  Both the CIA and the U.S. military (and even Israeli intelligence) have said that Iran has no current nuclear weapons program.  Repeated inspections of Iran by the International Atomic Energy Agency have found absolutely no evidence that Iran is pursuing the development of nuclear weapons.  Iran is a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty which recognizes the right of signatory nations to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.  Iran is entitled to develop nuclear energy for civilian applications.

By contrast, Israel, India and Pakistan do have nuclear weapons, have not signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty, and have never submitted to IAEA inspections.

It bears keeping in mind that Iran has never invaded any other country in the Middle East, but it has been attacked and invaded by Iraq, then led by Saddam Hussein, with which it fought a long bloody and costly war (in which the U.S. supplied arms and intelligence to Iraq). 

Although we may have forgotten, Iranians recall vividly that the CIA engineered a coup d'état in 1953 that overthrew its democratically elected government, returning to the throne the ruthless Shah who ruled for the next quarter century until he was forced out by the revolution of 1979.  The U.S. also supported and armed the Shah and his hated intelligence agency SAVAK.

•   Iran is ringed by hostile neighbors, including those possessing nuclear arms, as well as by the U.S. nuclear armed fleet in the Persian Gulf and a string of U.S. military bases throughout the region.  An attack on Iran might destroy its present nuclear facilities but would not eliminate Iran's capacity to rebuild.  And it would almost certainly rebuild in ways that are far more difficult to detect or destroy.  If Iran has no nuclear weapons program now, after an attack it almost certainly would seek nuclear arms as a deterrent against future attacks.

U.S. Economy and Workers Would Suffer As Oil Prices Skyrocket

•   Although Iran presently has no missile that can reach the U.S., Americans would suffer nonetheless. Almost immediately the price of oil and thus gasoline would skyrocket.  Any hope of economic recovery would be blown away by the bombs and missiles that strike Iran.  Rather than recovery, additional hundreds of thousands of Americans would lose their jobs (and homes) as energy costs forced businesses to cut back. 

International Community Would React

•   A military assault on Iran would also anger the international community, including some of the U.S.'s allies, and that plus the impact of higher energy costs would have potential consequences for U.S. trade relations, which in turn would also impact trade-dependent employment here.

A Disaster for Democratic Forces in Iran

•   Meanwhile inside Iran, the government would rally the population to its defense and the sovereignty of the country.  An attack would strengthen the hand of the Revolutionary Guard and reactionary forces.  The government would crack down against any expression of popular dissent with the result that many of the most moderate, democratic and progressive forces would be silenced, imprisoned, driven into exile or murdered.  An attack would reinforce the role of fundamentalists and extremists.  It would produce another generation bent on revenge and thus would actually undermine the security of the American people.