Rev. Danny Fisher

Our pal and upcoming interviewee Erick D. White forwards two more articles worth taking a look at:

Paul Hilder of Avaaz.org sent a mass email out today in which he wrote the following:

Military exercises, missile tests — the drumbeat of war with Iran grows louder by the day, driving the oil price even higher. Rumors swirl of an Israeli attack before Inauguration Day, or an “October surprise” from hardliners in the Bush administration. We hear reports of special ops teams already in place and at work.[1]

But what better way is there to unite Iran behind its most hawkish leaders than threatening to attack? This saber-rattling is bad for the US, the region and the world, especially when the diplomatic alternatives are showing promise.[2] Instead of showing leadership in this election year, our politicians are discussing blockades and bombings — we’ve got to speak up, before it’s too late.

Our best shot at shifting the US debate on Iran could be to team up with the new Jewish-led, pro-peace lobby J Street, who are sending an open letter to Members of Congress and Congressional candidates urging them to say “no” to pre-emptive military action against Iran, and “yes” to tough, smart diplomacy.

Their open letter reads as follows:

Dear Members of Congress and Congressional Candidates,

Current U.S. policy toward Iran is not working. Saber-rattling and threats without real diplomacy are not curtailing Iran’s apparent nuclear ambitions or advancing American interests.

Please support a new direction toward Iran in Congress and on the campaign trail. Say ‘no’ to another war in the Middle East and ‘yes’ to tough, smart diplomacy.

You can add your name to the by following this link. J Street meets regularly with members of Congress and will present this letter to all of them, and to every political candidate with whom it meets during this election cycle.

Finally, below are the sources used in Avaaz.org’s letter:

1. The New Yorker, “Preparing the Battlefield” (Seymour Hersh, 7 July 2008): http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/07/07/080707fa_fact_hersh

Washington Times, op-ed on the blockade of Iran currently being considered by Congress (Prof. Cyrus Bina and Col. Sam Gardiner, 5 July 2008):
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/jul/05/talk-to-iran/

2. Diplomatic alternatives showing promise –

IPS, “Reading Solana in Tehran”, Trita Parsi (7 July 2008)
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=43097

Christian Science Monitor, “The Alternative to an Israeli Attack on Iran”, Shlomo Ben-Ami and Trita Parsi (2 July 2008)
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0702/p09s01-coop.html

Boston Globe, “Interest Grows for International Iran Atom Plant” (10 June 2008)
http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2008/06/10/interest_grows_for_international_iran_atom_plant/

This from the Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN), which is part of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs:

Thousands of cyclone survivors living in displaced persons camps in Myanmar’s Ayeyarwady Delta worry about the prospects of returning to their villages, many of which were devastated by the category four storm.

There are 9,000 internally displaced (IDPs) in three camps in Myanmar’s southern Labutta township, a significant drop over earlier numbers, when up to 40,000 people were staying in 45 camps of varying sizes.

[...]

The government is reportedly offering incentives to encourage residents to return, including covering transport costs, as well as a number of food and non-food related items. In addition, the New Light of Myanmar newspaper announced the construction of some 4,000 homes in the area.

More than two months after the cyclone, some 9,000 people continue to live in three displaced persons camps in Labutta.

[...]

The UN now estimates that just under half this number will need assistance for the next six months.

According to the World Food Programme (WFP), some 724,000 people in the delta alone will require food aid for at least six months.

In Labutta, one of the worst-hit areas, just over half the 374,000 inhabitants were severely affected by the cyclone and half its 500 villages destroyed.

[...]

While conditions in the camps are far from ideal, residents at least have access to regular food as well as water and sanitation facilities.

WFP distributes a two-week ration of rice, beans, salt and oil to camp residents.