I have always been struck by how narrowly acceptable opinion in Washington is defined, particularly when it comes to foreign policy. 

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Greetings,

I have always been struck by how narrowly acceptable opinion in Washington is defined, particularly when it comes to foreign policy. In the nearly 20 years that I have worked in Washington’s policy circles, no crisis - no matter how deep - has prompted any soul searching worthy of the name.

When the Iraq war is thought of at all these days, it is understood as one, isolated bad decision. Even worse, most other military crises are totally ignored. Libya is in utter chaos following our intervention, so we simply choose not to talk about it. Eighteen years of war in Afghanistan and the revelation that Washington’s decision-makers have been misleading the public from the outset begot less soul searching than Janet Jackson's “wardrobe malfunction” during a Superbowl performance.

When almost everybody in Washington is to blame, no one gets blamed.

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There is a reason why this charade has gone on for so long: Without an institution that forces Washington to reassess the first principles of its foreign policy and that provides an alternative vision for America’s role in the world, accountability will remain an illusion, patriotism will be measured by the willingness to bomb other countries, and American leadership will be equated with military domination in every corner of the globe.

This is why I joined my colleagues in establishing the Quincy Institute. Because if we didn’t, this debacle would go on--unchecked--for decades more.

Change will not come by itself. It will come when enough people decide it must come - and then choose to act on that conviction.

I invite you to be one of these people.

Join us at the Quincy Institute by making a tax-deductible gift ([link removed]) towards our efforts to move U.S. foreign policy away from endless war and towards a framework centered on military restraint and diplomacy.

Unlike most other DC think tanks, we don’t take money from foreign governments or the defense industry. We rely on people like you.

Our task is not an easy one. But through Quincy, we have the best shot at success in a generation.

Can we count on you?

Sincerely,
Trita Parsi,
Executive Vice President

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