War with Iran:A Demand for Peace

Some Old White Men are looking to stir up strife with Iran, among them . . .

Paul Wolfowitz

Prominent Neocon, responsible along with others for the Iraq War;

Disgraced former head of the International Monetary Fund

Benjamin Netanyahu

Israeli prime minister and spokesperson

for a minority of Jews in Israel

Ehud Barak

Israeli defense minister, who, when told told

hat most of Israel's military and intelligence services

 oppose a first strike on Iran, said, 

"The services look up to me and the prime minister; 

We look up only 

to the Sky."

Jack Rosen

President of the American Jewish Congress, 

who speaks for  the half of American Jews

 who like War with Iran

Speaking for American Jews who

promote a just and lasting Israel is 

Jeremy Ben -Ami

President of J Street

 (to which some of us also belong.  

And so should you.)

Republican presidential candidates (Ron Paul excepted) also wish us to go to War with Iran. . .

Mitt Romney

"Look like the time; bear welcome in your eye, 

Your hand, your tongue: look like the innocent flower, 

   But be the serpent under't."

MacBeth, Act 1 Scene  5

 Newton Leroy Gingrich

fI do not love thee, Dr Fell,

The reason why I cannot tell;

But this I know, and know full well,

I do not love thee, Dr Fell.

 Rik Santorum

Boy Scout Law

A Scout is:

• Trustworthy,

• Loyal,

• Helpful,

• Friendly,

• Courteous,

• Kind,

• Homophobic

• Obedient,

• Cheerful,

• Thrifty,

• Brave,

• Clean,

•Intolerant of others,

• and Reverent.

These gentlemen all favor a preemptive strike against Iran, which might well make Iraq look like the "walk in the park" it was advertised to be..

  Look what the Iraq war got us.

A quick snapshot of the country these Old White Men would start a War with:

Iran has a near-perfect literacy rate and nearly all speak Persian; and about  60% of Iran's peoples speak Persian - or "Farsi" as it is known in the Persian language - as their native 

or a language in the Persian language family.  

The folks just to the East of Iran are the Tajiks in Afghanistan and, of course, in Tajikistan.  They can understand Persians in Iran as well as South Carolinians can understand Dubliners.

The Tajiks in Afghanistan make up the Northern Alliance, mortal enemies of the Taliban, folks we should be allied with instead of Pashtuns if we hope to get out of Afghanistan in one piece.  For information on the Tajik Afghan province right next to Iran's East, see here. 

Herat, Afghanistan, the only successful Afghan province, and

run by Tajiks

About 40% of the population of Iran are native Turkic speakers.

Turkic speaking countries, and the Trukic Council

Immediately to the north of Iran is Azerbaijan, a member of the Turkic Council.  Azeris can understand Turkish the way Texans can understand Scots.

Some scenes fo Azerbaijan:

 Celebrating an Azeri football victory

Beach football has reached Azerbaijan . . . before Hawaii!

Wrestling is the Azeri national sport, as it is in Iran.

Farid Mansurov, Vice-chair of the Azeri National Wrestling Conference

Interesting, but not as interesting as the oil wresting in neighboring Turkey:

Horses are important to Azeris, as they are 

to all Turkic speaking people.  And Texans.

Azerbaijan has just been made a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council.  It is rich in oil and has a democratic, moderate, Shiite government.  It is friendly with the United States, and especially friendly with our oil companies.

In an recent interview, Azerbaijan Presidential Administration Social and Political Department Chief Ali Hasanov spoke of the stable relationship Azerbaijan has with Iran, and noted

"Iran is home to tens of millions of our countrymen. We do not want problems with this country, and we try to keep good relations with Iran, we seek not to interfere in the internal affairs of each other, to prevent the use of our territories against other states, and also against each other," he noted.

Azerbaijan has been at war with its Christian neighbor, Armenia, for years, over control of Nagorno-Karabakh, an area between the two counties.

Although Armenia is a Christian country and Azerbaijan is Shia, Shia Iran has sided with Armenia, and still, relations between Azerbaijan ad Iran remain normal.

What do the Azeris know that wee could learn?

In any event, Azeris would not be pleased if we were to bomb Tabriz, the capital of the Iranian province of  East-Azerbaijan, home to many Azeris, a major industrial area of Iran, and the province that the Iraqis are doing business with.  

 Tabriz footballer

 Tabriz carpet maker, who would make a carpet for you,

if you asked nicely

Pro-democracy demonstrators in  Tabriz.  Iran, for all its beauty and favorable neighbors, is a theocratic dictatorship which some day soon will see a change.

 Tabriz football team.  I would not like us to 

kill

the football team or the pro-democracy demonstrators.

Let 'em work it out for themeless.  Help where we can.

 Tabriz shop

 Tabriz metal worker

IS SHORT - -

We'd make the Iraqis and the Azerbaijani and the Tajiks mad at us, and we'd cause unforeseeable complications with the Kurds, the Balochi, and the Pakistanis (described in a later post) if we bombed Iran.  

Israeli leaders now want to bomb Iran, and think the consequences would be a mere 100 dead: they do not think they would be among he dead;  they are dead wrong, according to their own intelligence estimates. 

Republican presidential candidates and other Old White Men want to bomb Iran and don't' know or won't say what the consequences, in lives and treasure, would be or how we are to pay for the adventure.

We'd  make the Saudis happy, and I think they are worse, and more our enemy, than Iran.

DON'T BOMB IRAN.  

LIVE WITH ONE MORE COUNTRY WITH THE BOMB if need be.  It won't be worse than North Korea's having the Bomb, and we've heard nary a peep out of them except a piteous plea for food.

Written by an Old White Man, but not one of  Them.