Dear Friend of the Quincy Institute,
It’s been a dizzying couple of weeks since Israel fired missiles at Tehran, scuttling US-Iranian talks aimed at peacefully preventing Iran from building nuclear weapons.
Our team worked non-stop — publicly and behind the scenes — to prevent the US from being drawn in. QI Executive VP Trita Parsi, who has written books about the US-Israel-Iran relationship and has sought for decades to find a diplomatic solution to the enmity between these states, worked the phones with officials on all sides and shared his insights widely on broadcast media, including CNN, CBS, ABC, FOX, MSNBC, Al Jazeera and dozens of other radio/TV/digital/print outlets, making the case against another destructive war.
Unfortunately, last Saturday, at the request of Israel, the United States dropped 12 of the most destructive bombs that have ever been used (short of nuclear bombs) — on a deeply buried site believed to be where Iran’s enriched uranium was located. The US also fired 30 cruise missiles at two other locations in Iran — all without an imminent threat to the US (or Israel), and without congressional approval, as mandated by the US Constitution.
I found Trita’s interviews with Zeteo and the New York Times on the night of the US strikes particularly compelling. And Becky Anderson closed out a CNN interview with Trita this week by thanking him on air for his analysis over the past weeks, months and years, which she called “nothing short of remarkable and so important.”
|
|
If the Iranian government did not respond to this attack, it risked appearing vulnerable to total destruction by Israel and the United States. It chose to fire a few well-telegraphed missiles at the US Air Force base in Qatar, the largest US military facility of many in the Middle East. The strike demonstrated what Iran could do, but in a manner that minimized harm and de-escalated.
Our work helped influence the debate within the White House and within the America First base that President Trump is sensitive to. As a result, much to the dismay of the warhawks in Washington and Tel Aviv who wanted to stop only with the collapse of the Iranian regime, Trump then strong-armed the governments in Israel and Iran to cease fire.
So where are we now? All of this destruction, death, and expense over the past two weeks has not resolved the underlying crisis; rather, a situation that diplomacy seemed likely to contain is now vastly more complicated.
Given the uncertainty of the ceasefire, our team is still very much on the job, talking with lawmakers, senior administration officials, diplomats, and media and advocating for a path rooted in negotiations and US national interests rather than further aerial bombardment or US boots on the ground.
My colleagues have met with more than 20 congressional offices in the past week, with a particular focus on conservative representatives, to provide expert, real-time analysis on why avoiding war with Iran is not only morally right but strategically necessary for the US. We have also reminded them that only Congress can declare war.
We are especially grateful for your partnership at this time. Your support allows us to provide real-time, credible alternatives to militarized approaches. In a moment when the stakes could not be higher, our mission — and your role in it — has never been more vital.
Thank you for standing with us,
Lora Lumpe
CEO
|
|
|
|
