Dear friend,
A disastrous war with Iran seems like it could come any day. Trump is
blaming Iran for an attack on Saudi oil facilities^1 and is sending more
troops to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.^2
There’s still hope to stop Trump from unilaterally going to war with Iran.
The House passed a bipartisan amendment to the National Defense
Authorization Act sponsored by Representatives Ro Khanna and Matt Gaetz
that would block funding for a war with Iran without congressional
approval.^3
Right now, House and Senate negotiators are deciding whether the
Khanna-Gaetz amendment to the NDAA will stay in the bill.^4
We need all antiwar voices--like yours, friend--to speak up now
to make sure the final bill blocks funding for war with Iran.
[ [link removed] ]Tell Congress, Speaker Pelosi, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer
to keep the Khanna-Gaetz NDAA amendment to block funding for war with
Iran.
As Rep. Ro Khanna said on Twitter, “Only Congress has the ability to
decide on matters of war on peace. NOT Trump or his administration, NOT
defense contractors, NOT Saudi Arabia. The Senate must include my NDAA
amendment to prevent Trump from unilaterally starting war with Iran.”
Diplomacy is our best bet to avoid all out war. And it was working--before
Trump unilaterally withdrew from the Iranian nuclear deal last year.^5
Since then, Trump has imposed severely destructive economic sanctions on
the people of Iran. Trump's sanctions have caused widespread human
misery^6 and shortages of medicine and medical equipment, particularly
affecting cancer patients.^7
Diplomacy is the best solution to this conflict--and Iran’s foreign
minister Javad Zarif agrees. He’s outlined a proposal for a new agreement
with the United States that would see permanent sanctions relief exchanged
for Tehran's permanent denuclearization.^8
U.S. wars abroad and drone strikes have killed thousands and have done
nothing to make us safer. In fact, they’ve done the opposite--the "War on
Terror" has fueled anti-American extremism globally.^9
[ [link removed] ]Tell Congress, Speaker Pelosi, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer
not to back down to pressure from Senate Republicans and keep the
Khanna-Gaetz NDAA amendment to block funding for war with Iran.
The Iranian people have been slowly moving towards moderate politics over
the last forty years. But if the U.S., Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates,
and Israel go to war with Iran, the Iranian hardliners would take
advantage of that and use war to drum up popular support. We could set the
clock back forty years in Iranian politics.
Iranians have resisted foreign occupation for centuries. Though the
Iranian government is unpopular with a large portion of the population,
most Iranians would be united in opposing an American occupation.
As Shirin Ebadi, the Nobel Peace Prize winner from Iran has repeatedly
said, you can’t deliver democracy to people on the backs of bombs.^10
Don’t let Trump launch a devastating, dangerous war.
[ [link removed] ]Tell Congress, Speaker Pelosi, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer
to keep the Khanna-Gaetz NDAA amendment to block funding for war with
Iran.
Thanks for speaking up for peace and justice,
Salma and the team at Demand Progress
[ [link removed] ]DONATE
Sources:
1. ABC News, "Iran asks West to leave Persian Gulf as tensions
heightened," [ [link removed] ]September 22nd, 2019.
2. CNN, "US to send troops and air and missile defense to Saudi Arabia as
Trump announces new Iran sanctions after oil attack," [ [link removed] ]September 21st,
2019.
3. Vox, "Progressives just got a major win against Trump on Iran. Can they
hold on to it?," [ [link removed] ]July 12th, 2019.
4. The Hill, "Negotiators kick off defense bill talks amid border wall,
Iran debates," [ [link removed] ]September 19th, 2019.
5. The New York Times, "To Contain Iran, Trump’s Newest Line in the Sand
Looks a Lot Like Obama’s," [ [link removed] ]May 17th, 2019.
6. Jacobin, "US Sanctions Are Designed to Kill," [ [link removed] ]September 4th, 2019.
7. NPR, "Iran Under Sanctions: A Scramble For Cancer Care And Blame To Go
Around," [ [link removed] ]August 24th, 2019.
8. CNN, "Iran's Zarif raises the prospect of a new nuclear agreement with
Trump," [ [link removed] ]September 23rd, 2019.
9. CATO Institute, "Step Back: Lessons for U.S. Foreign Policy from the
Failed War on Terror," [ [link removed] ]June 26th, 2017.
10. United Nations , "Press Conference by Shirin Ebadi, 2003 Nobel Peace
Prize Laureate," [ [link removed] ]June 2nd, 2004.
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