Middle East Experts let Bush know their thoughts on war with Iran

[RedEarth]

Open Letter to President George Walker Bush
April 21 2006
Mr. President:

We the signatories of this letter have dedicated our lives to studying the Middle East and it is in that capacity and as concerned citizens that we write to strongly oppose and warn against the military option in Iran. As the International Atomic Energy Agency has found no evidence of research or diversion of materials toward atomic weapons in Iran, concerns about future dual use of nuclear technology ought to be addressed in face to face negotiations. Such alternative venues as coercive diplomacy and military action will lead to further militarization and pressures on civil society at the expense of the democratic movement in Iran. The extreme right of the political spectrum of that country will be the sole beneficiary of such policies. The catastrophic regional and global consequences of escalating this crisis will not serve the interests of the United States, the course of democratic development in Iran, or the cause of global peace.

Respectfully,

....this is just a few of the Professors who signed the letter...the entire list is several pages long....wonder if King George will listen?


Ahmad Sadri, Professor of Sociology, Lake Forest College.
Hamid Zangeneh, Professor of Economics, Widener University.
Ervand Abrahamian, Distinguished Professor of History, City University of New York.
Djavad Salehi-Isfahani, Professor of Economics, Virginia Tech.
Chris Toensing, Editor, Middle East Report, Washington, DC.
Kaveh Ehsani, editorial board of Middle East Report.
Sohrab Behdad, Professor and John E. Harris Chair in Economics, Department of Economics, Denison University.
Ali Akbar Mahdi, Professor of Sociology, Ohio Wesleyan University.
Guity Nashat, Associate Professor, University of Illinois, Chicago.
Mansour Farhang, Catharine Osgood Foster Chair, Bennington College.
Mahmoud Sadri, Associate Professor of Sociology, Texas Woman’s University.
Nader Hashemi, Post-Doctoral Fellow, Northwestern University.
Joel Beinin, Professor of Middle East History, Department of History, Stanford University.
Said A. Arjomand, Distinguished Service Professor, Department of Sociology, State University of New York.
Abdulaziz Sachedina, Frances Myers Ball Professor of Religious Studies, Department of Religious Studies University of Virginia.
Binesh Hassanpour, Dept. of Political Science, University of Toronto.
Farideh Farhi, Adjunct Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Hawaii at Manoa.
Richard Falk, Albert G. Milbank Professor of International Law Emeritus, Princeton University.
Nikki Keddie, Professor Emerita of History, UCLA.

http://www.antiwarpetition.com/

[billybob537]

1. This is REALITY

REALITY has no effect on SHIT FOR BRAINS
IRAN is a money maker for Carlysle group and Big oil

[ihaveaquestion]

2. k&r - It's shameful that this kind of thing

has to be published somewhere. Another more intelligent administration would already have solicited these opinions from the experts and even if they still threatened Iran as a tactic (highly unlikely, I think), we could feel fairly confident that there was another more thoughtful strategic plan in the works. With these guys, we can never be sure they won't just blunder us into a nuclear holocaust!

[panader0]

3. He will listen if the list is read to him

but he's not able to read it on his own.......

[Rabrrrrrr]

4. And here is where they are wrong:

Such alternative venues as coercive diplomacy and military action will lead to further militarization and pressures on civil society at the expense of the democratic movement in Iran. The extreme right of the political spectrum of that country will be the sole beneficiary of such policies. The catastrophic regional and global consequences of escalating this crisis will not serve the interests of the United States, the course of democratic development in Iran, or the cause of global peace.

Well, actually, they're right - but they failed to take notice that this is precisely what Fuckstick and his asshole criminal friends want.

They WANT desatabalization. They NEED war. They make a shitload of money on this.

[Jacobin]

5. People warned the BoyKing about invading Iraq, too

Cheney and Rumsfeld have their agenda will only be deterred if a real live congress somehow materializes from thin air and tells him NO...and refuses to fund another clusterfuck.

[Norquist Nemesis]

6. Listen? No way in hell.

No doubt that list has already been stamped for the trash heap and the signatories sent over to the NSA for intelligence gathering activities.

[Alamom]

7. Well , we have Signatories and Supporters from

Universities across the nation, Humanitarian groups, close to 20 other countries & a name (?) from the United Nations.

If they do this, when they lie and say "WE DIDN"T KNOW", we can say...YES, you did know. The whole world knew.


No consolation, I know, but these (brilliant) people are trying. Let's give them credit while we can.

Supporters from these Countries listed along with the US.

Africa
Australia
Canada
England
France
Germany
Italy
Iran
Jordan
Lebanon
The Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Tokyo
Wales
(others I didn't recognize the name to put with their country)

Thank you for trying.

[insane_cratic_gal]

8. It scares me when they do this. Given boy George's

spoiled neglected child routines and temper tantrums. "I'm the decider, aren't I daddy" the Asshat has some serious issues with ego control and authority. He'd bomb it just despite these guys because they told him it was a bad idea.