Letter from Iran

(The better informed everybody becomes the greater the chance that war can be prevented and propaganda can not distort reality. With a couple of clicks you can do your part by simply forwarding this to others.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Do Iranian Americans Support or Oppose Military Action Against Iran's Nuclear Facilities

Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans

//www.payvand.com/news/12/mar/1097.html

(What stands out from the graph above is the drop in support for negotiations and the greater support for regime change which I attribute primarily to the "elections" of 2009.)

(Another noticeable result is the drop in support for military action but you would not think that was the case if you read the comments on Iranian.com which have a very vocal pro-war gang that bombards any item that hints of an antiwar stance. It's good to know that these pro-war advocates on Iranian.com are less than 3%. I would not be surprised if these comments were being posted from Israel.)

************************************

Obama Needs to Go the Whole Mile on Iran Diplomacy

Vali Nasr

//www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-03-13/obama-nee...

(This is an excellent article and a MUST read. Here are some highlights: )

"Last week, the President skillfully shifted the debate on Iran, pushing back against “idle talk of war” and making the case for diplomacy.

The President stood his ground to get the pressure-and-talk strategy back on track, and there are some hopeful signs that did the right thing. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei endorsed Obama’s defense of diplomacy, describing the U.S. president’s talk of a window of opportunity as “good words.” He also repeated his 1995 fatwa that building nuclear weapons is a “great sin.”

This was meant as a clear signal to the international community that Iran would not cross Obama’s red line.

Equally important, Khamenei’s intervention put an end to talk inside Iran that the country should now build nuclear weapons to protect itself against further Western pressure and any potential military attack. The fatwa and a straightforward letter from Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, declaring Iran’s readiness to resume talks has given the U.S. administration hope that this time, diplomacy may succeed. After all, the environment for the talks today is better than at any other time since Obama took office in 2009. Economic pressure on Iran is cutting to the bone, and a grave crisis looms if things don’t change.

The U.S. and its European allies, for their part, would need to be ready to lift significant sanctions. The U.S., separately, must be open to starting bilateral talks with Iran about regional security and the future of U.S.-Iran relations. Iran’s perception of opportunity and threat in its neighborhood is the principal reason it has invested its national security in the pursuit of nuclear capability."

(The only problem is that Obama may not have the power to lift any sanctions given how the Congress and Senate are stacked towards the warmongers given that they have been bought by Israeli lobbyist.)

***************************************

Subtle Signs Obama Diplomacy May Work on Iran

Barbara Slavin

//www.al-monitor.com/cms/contents/articles/op...

(This paragraph snapped me awake, and got me to dig further to see where Slavin got this impression.)

In an interview with Al Monitor last, Chuck Hagel, a former senator from Nebraska who co-chairs Obama’s Intelligence Advisory Board and heads the Atlantic Council, a Washington think tank, hinted that back-channel talks between the United States and Iran are already occurring.

(So, here is the Q & A and the link: )

"Al-Monitor: Do you know if there any private approaches going on or is it all through the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council plus Germany?"

"Hagel: I know more than I can tell you; there may be. I hope. I don’t see any other way around this. Because you can’t deal with something … as explosive as this is out in the public."

//www.al-monitor.com/cms/contents/articles/op...

(I don't know if this hints at a back channel or not because I doubt any back channels exist especially given this next item that is way out in broad daylight and something that normally would be sent via a back channel.)

***********************************************************

U.S. asks Russia to warn Iran before new talks

Reuters

//in.reuters.com/article/2012/03/14/russia-ir...

(Personally I think the Iranian regime should end their stubborn non-compromising positions so as to defuse this ticking time bomb. They should not only allow full access but also invite every journalist and nuclear scientist from around to world to come and take a close look at what they are up to. In the United States one is declared innocent until proven guilty but in this situation Iran is being declared guilty based on circumstantial evidence by the prosecutor who is acting as judge, jury, and executioner. Iran must prove its innocence to world not to the prosecutor who is clearly biased.)

************************************************

Former Bush official warns against Iran attack

National Security Council advisor and Iraq hawk Stephen Hadley counsels diplomacy, not war

By Jordan Michael Smith

//www.salon.com/2012/03/14/former_bush_offici...

“The Iranian public is watching what is going on in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya,” he said. Delaying a military strike may offer a chance for something to change in Iran, either through diplomacy or through the leadership’s reconsideration of its foreign-affairs approach. He believes Iran’s recent agreement to nuclear talks came as a result of increasing pressure on the regime.

Hadley’s comments are a marker of how top Bush administration official have been chastened by the Iraq disaster. With the important exception of Cheney and Rumsfeld, all seem to admit that the war did not go as planned — to the extent that it was planned). One of the few good things to come out of the Iraq war is that it has cautioned American leaders against starting another.

*************************************

Lobbying for War

Philip Giraldi

//original.antiwar.com/giraldi/2012/03/14/lob...

"Those Americans who still revere the Constitution and the advice of the Founding Fathers should rightly be appalled that a war is even being considered on behalf of a small client state with which the United States has no treaty obliging such intervention. War with Iran would undoubtedly follow the usual pattern, being authorized by the White House without the constitutionally mandated declaration of war by Congress and likely developing out of an evolving situation in which Israel is being given a free pass to initiate the conflict.

That the United States is in such a parlous condition is directly due to the effective work of Israel’s principal lobby in Washington, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC),

Consider what AIPAC and its friends in Congress and the media have accomplished: Understanding that the truth about Iran would not support their case, they have completely skewed the narrative about the threat posed by that country.

Iran has no nuclear weapon, has not made a decision to acquire one, and may not even have the technical ability or financial resources to do so even if its government decides to move in that direction. Yet, AIPAC has succeeded in convincing the American public that Iran is already a nuclear power and is somehow a threat to the United States, all despite the fact that Iran, far from being an aggressor, has been on the receiving end of covert operations run by Washington and Tel Aviv that have killed scores of Iranians.

AIPAC has also been effective in lining up Capitol Hill in its support. One third of Congress attended the AIPAC conference, and a number of individual legislators have been actively promoting the lobby’s line. Sen. Carl Levin is now calling for a military blockade of Iran, a clear act of war. Thirty-two senators, including Lindsey Graham, John McCain, and Joe Lieberman, are supporting legislation that will essentially authorize taking military action against Iran because it has the “capability” to create a nuclear weapon, a line that has already been crossed by Tehran as well as by other states in the region, including Turkey, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia. Why pick on Iran? Because that is what Israel wants.

In truth, Iran has been demonized to a point where it is difficult to imagine any nonviolent way out of the current contretemps.

Many are convinced the war is coming, including White House senior staff.

So what can the rest of us do when the war comes? Very little. The only man who can conceivably stop it, President Obama, is clearly thinking of timing. If the fighting starts too soon and goes sour, which it will, he will lose the presidency.

If it happens just before elections, he can pitch in to help brave little Israel and ride to victory as the latest in America’s unforgettable series of wartime presidents. If there is no war at all, Obama wins because he kept the peace. So the timing must be right if there is a war, and this is another thing that the Israelis understand.

They and AIPAC can make or break Obama, and the president can do little to derail the process. Will Bibi want to continue with the man he dislikes and distrusts in the White House or will he feel more comfortable with Mitt Romney, a man who has already stuffed his foreign policy team with the same neoconservative Israel-firsters who brought about Iraq and who genuinely do have Netanyahu’s back come hell or high water? Stay tuned.

*************************************

New Bill Supports Direct Talks to Prevent U.S.-Iran War, Scraps "No Contact Policy"

Beheshteh Farshneshani

//www.payvand.com/news/12/mar/1141.html

"Ten Members of Congress-9 Democrats and 1 Republican-introduced the Prevent Iran from Acquiring Nuclear Weapons and Stop War Through Diplomacy Act (H.R. 4173), which would not only lift the “no contact policy” but would also establish a U.S. envoy to lead direct, bilateral negotiations with Iran without preconditions."

"The measure, led by Representative Barbara Lee (D-CA), suggests diplomacy is the only solution that can implement verification mechanisms to ensure Iran does not build a nuclear weapon, effectively address Iran’s human rights situation, and prevent a war with Iran."

(Sorry, but this is hardly encouraging given that Barbara Lee is always on the losing side when it comes to war and peace. She is simply powerless to do anything and so are the other antiwar members of Congress.)

***************************************************************

Washington’s high-powered terrorist supporters

By Glenn Greenwald

//www.salon.com/2012/03/12/washingtons_high_p...

(As always Glenn Greenwald does a great job here.)

"One can reasonably debate whether MEK actually belongs on the list of Terrorist organizations. But as a criminal matter, that debate is irrelevant."

"We have the most well-connected national security and military officials in Washington doing far more than all of that right out in the open — they’re receiving large payments from a Terrorist group, meeting with its leaders, attending their meetings, and then advocating for them in very public forums; Howard Dean, after getting paid by the group, actually called for MEK’s leader to be recognized as the legitimate President of Iran – and so far none have been prosecuted or even indicted. The Treasury Department investigation must at least scare them."

"Even for official Washington, where elite crimes are tolerated as a matter of course, this level of what appears to be overt criminality — taking large amounts of money from a designated Terrorist group, appearing before its meetings, meeting with its leaders, then advocating on its behalf — is too much to completely overlook. The Washington Times reported on Friday that the Treasury Department’s counter-Terrorism division is investigating…"

"That group includes Rudy Giuliani, Howard Dean, Michael Mukasey, Ed Rendell, Andy Card, Lee Hamilton, Tom Ridge, Bill Richardson, Wesley Clark, Michael Hayden, John Bolton, Louis Freeh — and Fran Townsend."

(Time to lawyer up folks. I can just see Louis Freeh saying, "I am not a crook". For a former FBI director to say that will be fun to watch.)

********************************

Enough doom and gloom here is a joke:

(Iranians can substitute "Ye Torkeh" for "blonde".)

A blonde was driving home after work, and got caught in a really bad hailstorm. Her car was covered with dents, so the next day she took it to a repair shop. The shop owner saw that she was a blonde, so he decided to have some fun. He told her just to go home and blow into the tail pipe really hard, and all the dents would pop out.

So, the blonde went home, got down on her hands and knees and started blowing into her car's tailpipe. Nothing happened. She blew a little harder, and still nothing happened.

Her roommate, another blonde, came home and said, "What are you doing?"

The first blonde told her how the repairman had instructed her to blow into the tailpipe in order to get all the dents to pop out. Her roommate rolled her eyes and said...

"HELLLLO... You need to roll up the windows"