Dear Friend:
There are two prudent pieces which are of vital use in the quest for justice and humanitarian standards in America’s Middle East policies—and in the pursuit of peace instead of war in that vital part of the world.
First, our Executive Director Phil Giraldi—a former CIA counter-terrorism specialist—writes about just what a confrontation with Iran may look like in tangible terms. I wish it were only the outline of a fiction book, but it is all too real. He begins his authoritative and chilling scenario with this:
“Despite President Barack Obama’s assertion that he would open up avenues to talk to the Iranians, he has failed to do so, he has rejected Iranian initiatives to start a dialogue, and he is showing every sign of unwillingness to negotiate on any level. The sanctions that recently took effect against the Iranian banking system can be construed as an act of war … further sanctions that will restrict energy imports are impending and will bring the country’s economy to a halt. There are already signs that the Iranian government feels itself compelled to demonstrate to its people that it is doing something about the situation. That ‘something’ might well be a confrontation with the U.S. Navy that will have unfortunate results. In light of all that, it might be useful to imagine just how war with Iran could play out if the Iranians don’t roll over and surrender at the first whiff of grapeshot.”
Next, Lt. Col. Donna Lorraine Barlett, a member of the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General Corps, penned an article marking the tenth anniversary establishing the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay (or Gitmo, as it’s popularly known). In her commentary published in USA Today, Lt. Col. Barlett forcefully argues:
“Notwithstanding [Barak Obama’s] 2008 campaign promise to close Gitmo, it remains open for business … everyone in America should recognize that Gitmo is a failure. And its exorbitant expense (cost of about $800,000 per year, per detainee) is but another unheralded cost of the misery. Gitmo now takes its place among the world’s most notorious and evil prisons, right up there with Devil’s Island and the Siberian gulag. Gitmo’s tragic legacy has made the leap, or creep, into countless other awful federal policies. These range from public acceptance of ‘enhanced interrogation techniques’ to loss of civil liberties, perpetual surveillance, rampant militarism and now the possibility that you, or someone you love, might be whisked away, with no trial, and held indefinitely until … you either die, or informed citizens demand that these maddening, immoral, unjust, inhumane laws be overturned.”
I urge you to circulate these articles to friends and allies. In my work with the Council for the National Interest, I often take my inspiration from Abraham Lincoln’s advice: “I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts.”
Sincerely,
Alison Weir,
President
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