Author: Matt Barganier

Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) before the House of Representatives, Feb. 6:

Don’t Do It, Mr. President

It’s a bad idea.
There’s no need for it.
There’s great danger in doing it.
America is against it, and Congress should be.
The United Nations is against it.
The Russians, the Chinese, the Indians, and the Pakistanis are against it.
The whole world is against it.
Our allies are against it.
Our enemies are against it.
The Arabs are against it.
The Europeans are against it.
The Muslims are against it.
We don’t need to do this.
The threat is overblown.
The plan is an hysterical reaction to a problem that does not yet exist.
Hysteria is never a good basis for foreign policy.
Don’t we ever learn?
Have we already forgotten Iraq?
The plan defies common sense.
If it’s carried out, the Middle East, and possibly the world, will explode.
Oil will soar to over $100 a barrel, and gasoline will be over $5 a gallon.
Despite what some think, it won’t serve the interests of Israel.
Besides — it’s illegal.
It’s unconstitutional.
And you have no moral authority to do it.
We don’t need it.
We don’t want it.
So, Mr. President, don’t do it.
Don’t bomb Iran!
The moral of the story, Mr. Speaker, is this: if you don’t have a nuke, we’ll threaten to attack you. If you do have a nuke, we’ll leave you alone. In fact, we’ll probably subsidize you. What makes us think Iran does not understand this?

Imagine every member of Congress who supposedly opposes war with Iran speaking this clearly and forcefully. Can you?

Link.

Ever notice how many of those who are the keenest to torture and kill can’t take the slightest criticism? Doug Bandow highlights a Japan Today article on how Dick “F*ck Yourself” Cheney deals with the sting of fairly obvious observations.

The New York Times reporter behind this story is actually a tape recorder. (There’s some disagreement on the matter, however: Editor & Publisher claims that Michael R. Gordon is a sentient creature of some sort.)

Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards is out on the stump:

“Iran is serious about its threats,” former US Senator John Edwards has told an audience in Israel.

“The challenges in your own backyard – represent an unprecedented threat to the world and Israel,” the candidate for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination told the Herzliya Conference, referring mainly to the Iranian threat.

I don’t know about New Hampshire, but I’d say Edwards is off to a strong start in Tel Aviv.

In his speech, Edwards criticised the United States’ previous indifference to the Iranian issue, saying they have not done enough to deal with the threat.

Hinting to possible military action, Edwards stressed that “in order to ensure Iran never gets nuclear weapons, all options must remain on table.”

On the recent UN Security Council’s resolution against Iran, Edwards said more serious political and economic steps should be taken. “Iran must know that the world won’t back down,” he said.

Take that, Dubya.

After opening his speech with great praise for Former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Edward’s continued to express great appreciation for the Israeli people and the special bond between the two countries, saying it was “a bond that will never be broken.”

Sure, Ariel Sharon is the greatest – he’ll always have a place in our hearts – but Edwards needs to get hip, reach out for that youth vote. There’s a new badass to kiss in the Knesset.

In a further display of support for Israel, Edwards went so far as to suggest that Israel should even be made a member of NATO, saying it was only natural that the organization would seen [sic] to include Israel next.

Sure. And when are we going to do something about Israel’s exclusion from the Arab League? The Organization of American States? The United Federation of Planets? When, dammit, when is an American president finally going to get to work on these vital matters?

[Edwards article via David Beito.]

But you should read what Arthur Silber and Jonathan Schwarz have to say anyway, because they present two unpopular arguments better than anyone else has.

David Beito of Liberty & Power sends along this petition urging an immediate withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq. Though the big names at the top skew very left, the statement strikes this libertarian as admirably focused and unobjectionable in its particulars.

UPDATE: A reader suggests that those who get to the petition from here write “Antiwar.com reader” in the space for organization – y’know, show everybody who’s boss.