Middle East experts warn against military option in Iran

Human Quest, Jul/Aug 2006

Reported by Friends Committee on National Legislation

More than 200 scholars, academics, commentators, and former U.S. government officials issued a strong condemnation of the threat of U.S. military action against Iran and called on the Bush administration to enter into face-to-face negotiations with the government in Tehran.

In a letter sent to the White House, the group urges diplomacy to resolve concerns over the development of nuclear materials that have magnified tensions among Iran, the U.S. and global community.

"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," write the signatories and supporters, a diverse group of well respected Middle East experts from around the world as well as former U.S. officials and journalists. The letter warns that the likely "catastrophic regional and global consequences of escalating this crisis will not serve the interests of the U.S., the course of democratic development in Iran, or .... global peace."

Among the signatories are Professors Juan Cole, Charles Butterworth, Richard Falk, Ervand Abrahamian, Ahmad Sadri, and Noam Chomsky. Several signatories held a press conference in Washington to answer questions about their position. "We started the letter out of a sense of frustration that the experts in the field were not being consulted as the U.S. develops policy toward Iran," explained Professor Ahmad Sadri, who coordinated the project. "This is the same mistake the U.S. ... made before going to Iraq. We're saying don't do that again."

The Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL), which hosted the press conference, is a nonpartisan Quaker lobby in the public interest that has worked for more than 60 years to support peaceful alternatives to war and other deadly conflicts and promote nuclear disarmament. For the full text of the letter, visit http://antiwarpetition.com/