| Action: Urge U.S. and Iran to Stop Playing Chicken |
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| Written by Gerald Rudolph | |
| Thursday, 10 January 2008 | |
 Action: Urge U.S. and Iran to Stop Playing Chicken We hope that President George Bush's trip to the Middle East this week will result in new steps toward peace. But the initial reports are not encouraging. Ignoring the conclusions of the U.S. military and intelligence agencies, the White House spent the two weeks before the president's trip portraying the visit as an opportunity to put more pressure on Iran and work to further isolate the government in Tehran. Not surprisingly in this atmosphere of tension, a confrontation between U.S. Navy ships and Iranian government speedboats nearly erupted into a shooting war earlier this week. The president has continued down this aggressive path while in the Middle East. After meetings in Israel, President Bush said that "Iran was a threat, Iran is a threat, and Iran will be a threat if they are allowed to learn how to enrich uranium." This game of chicken can't have a good outcome. I hope you will take a moment to read FCNL Legislative Secretary Jim Fine's analysis of why the president's approach to the region will not help advance prospects for peace.
We at FCNL argue for an approach to avoid war, one that combines active diplomacy, assurances that the U.S. does not intend to permanently occupy Iraq, and the kind of people-to-people interactions that can build links of understanding between our two nations. That's why FCNL Executive Secretary Joe Volk went to Iran last year and why some of our staff joined two Iranian bicyclists in planting trees of friendship on Capitol Hill last week. Take Action But there's more to do. You can help by working to make peace an issue in the 2008 elections and working here in Washington to urge Congress to speak out in favor of more diplomatic engagement both with Iraq and with Iran. Urge your representative to support legislation calling for a diplomatic surge in the Middle East. If you've already written to your representative, ask two friends to write letters.
Background Read Dan Smith's analysis of the game of chicken between the U.S. and Iran, including a video of the encounter between the U.S. and Iranian Navy ships: Read Jim Fine's memo "Iraq: How to End the War in an Election Year". Visit by Iranian cyclists to Washington: Find out more. FCNL's in-district lobby days on Iraq: Find out more. |
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