OBAMA, STOP RUSH TO WAR AGAINST IRAN!

When Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu comes to Washington several weeks from now, besides addressing Israel's premier lobbying group in the U.S., AIPAC, he is expected to visit with Pres. Obama and pressure him on attacking Iran.

Mr. Obama, stand up to Netanyahu.  Don't let him bully you into sending American war planes to bomb Iran and kill thousands of Iranians.

FREE BRADLEY MANNING

Pfc Bradley Manning faces life in prison if convicted.  But what is he guilty of?

Bringing to light "secret documents" that have embarrassed high ranking politicians?  Yes, this is why he is being prosecuted.

And for this, Bradley Manning could be sacrificed on the altar of secrecy.

Don't punish Bradley Manning.  Free him and give him a medal.  He is a hero for his part in releasing documents that show the inner workings of our government.

STOP DRUM BEATS OF WAR AGAINST IRAN!

Scott Shane writes in today's The New York Times about the seemingly ineluctable American march to war against Iran.

Writes Shane:

"Israel’s stance has played out politically in the United States. With the notable exception of Representative Ron Paul of Texas, Republican presidential candidates have kept up a competition in threatening Iran and portraying themselves as protectors of Israel. A bipartisan group of senators on Tuesday released a letter to President Obama saying that new talks could prove a “dangerous distraction,” allowing Iran to buy time to move closer to developing a weapon."

But even more disheartening are the statistics cited by Shane showing most Americans would approve a U.S. attack against Iran. 

"Despite a decade of war, most Americans seem to endorse the politicians’ martial spirit. In a Pew Research Center poll this month, 58 percent of those surveyed said the United States should use military force, if necessary, to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Only 30 percent said no.

"I find it puzzling,” said Richard K. Betts of Columbia University, who has studied security threats since the cold war. “You’d think there would be an instinctive reason to hold back after two bloody noses in Iraq and Afghanistan.”

We must reverse this American blood lust for more war.  The public needs to know that there is no credible proof that Iran is building a nuclear weapon.  We should be friends with Iran and Iranians, not enemies about to drop thousand-pound bombs.

OBAMA: RESIST THE ISRAELI PUSH TO WAR AGAINST IRAN

The Guardian carries an editorial today that warns of the terrible outcome if Israel mounts a bombing attack on Iranian nuclear development sites.

When Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli PM, visits Washington in March to attend the national convention of AIPAC, the biggest and most bellicose Jewish organization unreservedly backing Netanyahu's Greater Israel policies, the U.S. president Barack Obama needs to tell him in no uncertain ways that the U.S. government will not participate in such illegal attack.

If Israel attacks Iran, there will be no peace in the Middle East, or in the world, for the next 500 years.  Stop the constant drumbeat telling the Iranian people that "all options are on the table."  That's only a euphemism for all-out war and destruction of the Iranian people and civilization.

U.S POLICY TOWARDS BAHRAIN PROTESTERS HYPOCRITICAL AND SELF-SERVING

I have written in the past about the hypocritical treatment of the uprising in Bahrain by the U.S. Government.  Because the protesters are overwhelmingly Shia, and because Iran, close by across the Persian Gulf, is predominantly Shia, the U.S. can't bring itself to condemn the harsh and brutal tactics of King Khalifa and his Sunni government in an attempt to to crush the protest.  And all along, the protesters have been non-violent in the face of tanks, bird shot, rubber bullets and tear gas.

Why won't Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton come out and unequivocally condemn Khalifa?  Because Bahrain has a military tie-in with the U.S. military.  It allows the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet to have a base there.  The U.S. is so caught up with perceived threats from Iran that it will put principles on the back burner in its quest to protect its military presence located some 100 miles from Iran.

The U.S. prides itself as a government that supports democracy all over the world.  It has supported the Libyan rebels, the Egyptian revolutionaries and the fighters in Syria.  Yet the U.S. fails to stand up for those marching for democracy and representation in Bahrain.

STOP THE MARCH TO WAR AGAINST IRAN!

Israel again is clamoring for a strike against Iran.  Pres. Obama must resist these militaristic solutions to Iran's nuclear development.  So far there is no evidence that Iran wants or intends to make nuclear weapons.  Everything is innuendo:  Iran "might" have the capability to develop nuclear weapons, signs point to Iran's "desire" for nuclear weapons, Iranian agents are "suspected" in bombings of autos in Georgia and India, but so far not one shred of hard evidence.  Nevertheless there are some who would like nothing better than to drop bombs on Iran.

Imagine the death toll of Iranians in the case of an attack by Israel.  And imagine the lasting damage to world peace by going along with the present Israeli government in an attack against Iran.  There would be catastrophic conflict for the next 500 years.