Iran is all over the news lately. Iranian officials announced this week that they will soon begin production at yet another uranium processing site, which undoubtedly will be used to make a nuclear weapon.In addition to worrying about Iran’s advances in an arsenal of nuclear weapons, the United States is deeply concerned about an Iranian court imposing a death penalty on Amir Mirzaei Hekmati, an American of Iranian descent accused by the Iranian government of spying for the CIA, a charge which U.S. officials deny.
Meanwhile, conflict between Washington and Tehran heightened when Iran threatened force on the U.S. if they entered the Strait of Hormuz, a channel which controls the oil supply lines to the rest of the world. In an unusual twist, the U.S. rescued Iranians in the strait from Somali pirates.
The U.S. has lined up many Western allies to support a move to impose economic sanctions on Iran.
Israel has been pushing the U.S. to join forces and attack Iran, especially if it is discovered that Iran has achieved a nuclear weapon. President Barack Obama has so far been able to fend off Israel’s proposed aggression against Iran.
We have just pulled our troops out of Iraq. Are we preparing to attack Iran because of nuclear weapons? Nine countries currently have a nuclear arsenal.
Do we need another war that threatens to engage several nations? Or rather, does the world need another conflict? Aren’t we tired of killing? Let’s shut up about another war and give peace a chance.
Where are the peacemakers? How long are we going to live on the edge?
I am opposed to any possession of nuclear weapons which could wipe out mankind. Nuclear weapons also harm the possessor. Where are the calls we heard so loudly after World War II for world disarmament?
It’s what Winston Churchill called “the sublime irony of mutual destruction” when the Soviets were trying to reach a par with the U.S. in nuclear arsenals. The U.S., lead by Obama, should be proposing disarmament across the board, to put the world back on its rightful path of peace.
How long will the West tolerate such brinkmanship involving nuclear weapons?
There is no question Iran is determined to become a nuclear power as much as they deny it. To say that both sides are playing with fire is an understatement.
Despite the pressure, Obama has used restraint and good sense; but the hawks are urging more aggressive action. That would be mayhem.
We are the only country that has used a nuclear weapon. Former President Harry S. Truman ordered the dropping of the first atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which showed American power in the Pacific and ultimately ended World War II with Japan.
Iran has a few friends who are nuclear powers – including China, which depends on oil shipments from the Persian Gulf. As the U.S. pulls its troops out of Iraq and prepares to leave Afghanistan, the country is in no position to start a new war. We have already spent trillions for the battles in Iraq and Afghanistan, which have killed thousands and led to nowhere.
The Iraqi venture was based on falsehoods initiated by the last Bush administration. When are the American people going to wake up and question these costly adventures, which are pure tragedy?
Obama still has a chance to go down in history as a peacemaker. There is no reason he cannot reach out to the Mullahs in Iran to make peace instead of war. It will take a monumental gesture by Obama to make the 21st century a peaceful one, instead of a repetition of the last century of war.
