“Ignorance, Not Iran, Is the Enemy”

       Last weekend, June 28 and 29, 2008, over 300 people representing anti-war groups including A.N.S.W.E.R, Troops Out Now Coalition, United for Peace and Justice, U.S. Labor Against the War, StopWarOnIran, American Friends Service Committee, and CASMII, the Campaign Against Sanctions and Military Intervention in Iran, met in Cleveland, Ohio, under the auspices of the National Assembly to End the Iraq War and Occupation.

The main goal of the National Assembly Conference was to unify the various coalition members around common Resolutions and coordinated plans for Actions throughout the nation to demand the immediate withdrawal of all US forces from Iraq.

Concerned that the ongoing drumbeat urging war against Iran might not be appropriately countered by anti-war activists, CASMII-USA President Rostam Pourzal and Phil Wilayto, publisher of the Richmond Defender drafted a Resolution urging that National Assembly include in its goals that of preventing an attack on Iran.

Behind the banner, Ignorance, Not Iran, Is the Enemy, Pourzal and Wilayto, who are both members of VAWN, Virginia Anti-War Network, conducted a workshop laying out arguments why a military attack on Iran, Sanctions on Iran, and interference in Iran’s internal affairs should be opposed by anti-war activists.

Rostam Pourzal answered the main U.S. lies – that Iran is attempting to develop nuclear weapons, that it is a military threat to the United States and Israel, that it sponsors terrorism, and that it is a source of instability in Iraq.

Wilayto discussed the urgency of including the Iran Resolution in the actions of the National Assembly, since it is

the only major anti-war planning event taking place this election year…{and it} brought together representatives of national coalitions that seldom work together.

Pourzal, Wilayto, and this diarist attended the Conference motivated by

concern that the Bush administration might misread the conference’s focus on bringing troops back from Iraq as indifference in the anti-war movement regarding an attack on Iran. There was no lack of concern among the conference participants or organizers about aggression against Iran.

Pourzal presented the Iran Resolution to the Conferees on Sunday morning.   The CASMII/Defenders Iran Resolution was one of several Iran resolutions put before the body; others were less desirable in that they called for      acts of protest onlyafter harmful actions had been initiated against Iran. Advocates for those Resolutions graciously agreed to cede their draft resolution and support the CASMII/Defenders Iran Resolution, namely:

demand that the National Assembly declare its unequivocal opposition to:

(1) any military attack on Iran, by the U.S., Israel, or any other country acting at the behest of the U.S.;

(2) the imposition or continuation of sanctions, whether economic or military, against Iran; and

(3) any attempt by the U.S. government or any of its agencies to interfere with or influence the internal political process in Iran

In a floor debate Iran Resolution advocates requested that the National Assembly

incorporate these demands into any future protests…and officially agree that copies of the resolution on Iran be included with any press release about the results of the conference.

Consistent with the finding that

some 70 percent of the people of the United States favor withdrawal from Iraq,

National Assembly conferees voted overwhelmingly to adopt the Iran Resolution as proposed by CASMII/Defenders.

Close observers of the U.S.–Israel–Iran debacle reflect that,

George Bush has less than seven months before he leaves the White House. So the window of opportunity for an attack on Iran by the US or Israel is closing. Some in the anti-war movement may feel that the threat of a new war is remote. But the month of August has in the past presented an attractive time frame for the U.S. government to implement unpopular policies. Congress is not in session in August and students are dispersed, as are many working people. The anti-war movement itself is in a less active mode in mid to late summer, with many of activists taking time off for needed rest.

TAKE ACTION

Yesterday, in a diary titled,  Stop War On Iran, Aug. 2 An Emergency Call to Actionactioncenter brought to the attention of the DailyKos community one of many Stop War on Iran Mass Marches planned for August 2, 2008.

We believe that the possibility of an attack on Iran is credible and serious. Please strengthen opposition to war with your participation

in actions already organized in your community, or contact CASMII USA, or StopWarOnIran or your local Obama Campaign headquarters for assistance in organizing your own march on August 2, 2008.

IGNORANCE IS THE ENEMY. Educate yourself.

But if you CAN’T participate in a protest march to Stop War on Iran on August 2, at least seek to inform yourself and your friends and neighbors of the history of U.S.–Iran relations, find out what Iran is really like, and prepare yourself to talk back to the campaign of demonization that is being foisted on the American people, just like the campaign of lies and fearmongering that preceded our invasion of Iraq.  

One invaluable source of sound information about the Iran–U.S. relationship can be found in The Teaching Company’s lecture series, The United States and the Middle East: 1914 to 9/11, taught by Professor Salim Yaqub of the University of Chicago.  If your local library does not have the series, request them to acquire it; if your book club chooses to purchase it, find it here.  I found it worthwhile to pay the extra money for the DVD version, because it was helpful to follow the action on maps that Prof. Yaqub displayed.

And to get a flavor of the Iranian heart and soul, read Dr. Fatemeh Keshavarz’s Jasmine and Stars: Reading More Than Lolita in Tehran

Can we the people stop war on Iran?

Yes, We Can