United States decision to impose another round of unilateral sanctions for what Secretary Rice described as “threatening behavior by Iran” is yet another example of how the current administration conducts its so called international diplomacy which is defined by a coordinated demonization campaign designed to prepare the public, Congress and the media for yet another pre-planned military adventure.
Were you to ask this writer only 12 months ago if this administration would be willing to escalate its tough rhetoric into actual hostile action, the answer would have been probably not based on the assumption that after the Iraqi fiasco there are enough rational heads inside the government to recognize this new folly and would reign those wacky cuckoos back into their nest. Unfortunately, that no longer seems to be the case.
This past Friday, I attended the National Iranian American Council’s (NIAC) “No War on Iran” fundraiser in DC and was encouraged by the respectable number of attendees at what became a standing-room-only event despite the inclement weather outside.
Guest speaker Congressman Jim Moran (D-VA) delivered an outstanding speech which was both frightening and inspiring at the same time. In his words, the war-mongers’ agenda has gained a lot of momentum since the passage of the latest Defense Authorization bill with the Lieberman-Kyl amendment on Iran. He specifically highlighted the act of designating the Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terror group both unprecedented and extremely dangerous.
He warned that unless Iranians like those present in that room acted now by speaking up and engaging the political system like the other side, we are all headed toward another catastrophe. By the “other side” of course, he meant the AIPAC and other neo-conservative political action committees whose numbers are in the hundreds inside the beltway working tirelessly to portray Iran as a global threat that must be stopped by military force despite the disastrous consequences.
NIAC currently has only two full-time staffers dedicated to countering those attempts and the event was essentially one to raise funds necessary to double those efforts. I strongly urge all who care about Iran and its people to unite at this most critical time in our history and lend your full support to NIAC now.
Here is the link to member sign up page: http://www.niacouncil.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=275&Itemid=41
