MoveOn friends/members:
In a news conference last weekend, Vice President Cheney inched closer to war with Iran. *1

Does this feel like déjà vu to you? Experts agree that escalating the war into Iran will make things worse, and Congress has the constitutional power to stop the White House. But they need to hear from all of us that Americans don't want a widening war—and we expect them to do something about it.

So, we've prepared an ad to send a simple clear message to Congress, and we need your help to make sure it gets into national newspapers. We need to act now before it's too late. Can you chip in? To see the ad and contribute, click here:

See Ad/Contribute

New Mexico Governor and Democratic Presidential candidate, Bill Richardson, described the stakes this way:

Saber-rattling is not a good way to get the Iranians to cooperate. But it is a good way to start a new war—a war that would be a disaster for the Middle East, for the United States and for the world. A war that, furthermore, would destroy what little remains of U.S. credibility in the community of nations.

A better approach would be for the United States to engage directly with the Iranians and to lead a global diplomatic offensive to prevent them from building nuclear weapons. *2

Over the last week, more than 175,000 of us have sent personal messages to Congress. And now we need to back that up with a public message that the American people won't tolerate more reckless behavior in the Persian Gulf.


Please help make sure this ad gets seen by millions of people—and decision makers in Washington. You can add your voice by making a contribution at:

Click Here!

This time we see the warning signals, and we're organized to make a difference. As Governor Richardson closed his op-ed:

This is no time for chest-beating and dangerous brinkmanship. It is time for alliance-building, direct engagement and tough face-to-face negotiations. For the United States to attack Iran without exhausting all diplomatic options would be a terrible mistake. *3

Thanks for all you do.

–Eli, Ilyse, Karin, Jenn and the MoveOn.org Political Action Team
Tuesday, February 27th, 2007

P.S. The Times of London reported on Sunday that some of our senior military commanders are ready to resign if the White House goes into Iran. This is unprecedented and shows how divisive this administration is. *4

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Sources:

1. Cheney: 'All Options' Available for Iran, ABCNews, February 24th, 2007
ABCNews

2. Diplomacy, not War, with Iran, Washington Post, February 24th, 2007
Diplomacy, Not War

3. ibid.

4. US generals 'will quit' if Bush orders Iran attack, The Sunday Times, February 25th, 2007
US Generals Will Quit