Mr. Baer, I hardly ever agree with anything you say and this is not very different. However I agree that it is not necessary for candidates to foreswear military action against Iran. What IS a requirement for any Democrat to get my vote is an attack on the Bush attempt to trump up a case for war following (just to make it easy to follow) the precise same script that he used in Iraq). Now if you, or Hillary, or Edwards or Obama are too tied to AIPAC to speak out forcefully against another phony war then our differences are clear. Otherwise it is absolutely essential that Bush's march to war with Iran right now be opposed without ambiguity by any serious candidate. So the bottom line is not foreswearing military action, it is making clear pre-emptive war is completely off the table.

Yet there is no mainstream Democratic candidate who is running as a pacifist or should; and those who refuse to believe that Iran is a threat and bent on asserting its hegemony in the region, which will have serious repercussions to American interests, are misinformed or naïve.

Perhaps if you'd laid out what these "serious repercussions" were, your post would have some substance. You didn't; it doesn't.

Mr Baer

Thank you for bringing some sense to this issue. Giving Iran an out by waiting for the next Democratic President does not seem to sensible.

The Democratic Party has an enormous advantage going into 2008 having George Bush as the sitting President. However, how do Democrats convince that rest of the country that the Party does not stand for defeatism and unilateral surrender and stil cope with the blogsphere?

Daniel A. Greenbaum

The only reason Bush is ratcheting up the rhetoric on Iran is that he is an idiot who is still listening to Cheney and other morons who sold him a bill of goods on Iran. Oppose the heated up rhetoric and encourage rational foreign policy decisions.

Tom

Oh, perhaps with some realistic perspective to deal with fearmongering? It's hard to be defeatist with respect to Iran when Iran is presenting no significant threat other than a loudmouthed politician without much authority, although something of a flair for public relations.

As far as perspective, a good start would be pointing out that a goal is reducing terrorism worldwide, and that operations in Iraq are only one part of a whole. Many nations have had eventual victory when they recognized unworkable situations and reallocated resources, as with the British at Gallipoli and Dunkirk, or the US at Chosin Reservoir.
--
Howard

*equal opportunity offense to both extremes*

Yes, there are no credible experts left in the country. Donald Rumsfled once said on national television: “they were all wrong”; he was referring to CIA intelligence on Iraq. He only said that because it became obvious that there was no Weapon of Mass Destruction but Weapon of Mass Deception. He has to blame someone and CIA is the scapegoat. What a shame, a $30 billion organization can make such a BIG mistake. Now, whatever “experts” America may have, there is no credibility anymore.

It is interesting to see how this Cowboy President is able to balance the budget now that it is obvious America is sending more money out of the country than bringing in. It is a disgrace for the Harvard University, the world number one, to accept and produce a substandard student and to allow him to manage a country of 300 million people with no proper project plan. He has no project management training and cultural and linguistic abilities to understand foreign countries and dignitaries, all he has is a bunch of cowboy enthusiasm and “bring it on” attitude,

The consequence of a war with Iran would be:
1. More money spends outside the country which could have otherwise spent on health care and education and infrastructure and wealth creation within the country.
2. more casualties suffered on both sides
3. more hatred towards America around the world
4. the military is already stretched too thin and soldiers would become insane
5. more countries would seek nuke to protect their own interest against American imperialism
6. More American children would be left behind without proper education and as a result there will be more social problems in the years ahead.
7. More allies would be leaving Iraq and Afghanistan and distance away from America and America would ultimately bare the full cost of the war in Iraq, Afghanistan and Iran. In other words, the American economy would collapse in order to micromanage a few other countries. The cost could run up to many trillion dollars.

May God has mercy on the soul of this cowboy president and ask him to repent and show kindness and mercy to others. It is enough of accusing others of wrong doing and takes a step back to reflect how much damage he has done to others. It is ironic that America has the best universities to produce the best students in the world and yet it has turned out a bunch of liars and aggressors to tell everyone in the world what is right and wrong. It is also ironic that America is teaching the world about democracy and human rights and America is doing the exact opposite by terrorizing, intimidating and bribing weaker nations and justifies torturing of other nations. This is not democracy, it is called hypocrisy.

It's the spillover effect from the antics of this administration. Only quiet time with a more rational adminstration will solve it.

WHAT TOTAL & UTTER BALONEY STINKING TO HIGH HEAVEN!!!!!!

So there are no "credible expert on Iran" who would advise taking the "war-crime" option off the table, huh?

Here's a start: In this list, you'll find pretty much the who's-who of Iran experts in the US and around the world (people who have dedicated their entire lives to the issue and not made for TV insta-experts pushing the agenda du jour) in addition to Nobel Laureates, US ambassadors, and other distinguished persons.

We the signatories of this letter have dedicated our lives to studying the Middle East and it is in that capacity and as concerned citizens that we write to strongly oppose and warn against the military option in Iran....

Joel Beinin, Professor of Middle East History, Department of History, Stanford University.
Richard Falk, Albert G. Milbank Professor of International Law Emeritus, Princeton University.
Nikki Keddie, Professor Emerita of History, UCLA.
William O. Beeman, Professor, Anthropology; and Theatre, Speech and Dance Former Director, Middle East Studies, Brown University.
James E. Akins, US Ambassador, Ret.
Ted Swedenburg, Professor of Anthropology, University of Arkansas.
Mehrzad Boroujerdi, Director, Middle Eastern Studies Program Syracuse University.
Ahmad Sadri, Professor of Sociology, Lake Forest College.
Hamid Zangeneh, Professor of Economics, Widener University.
Ervand Abrahamian, Distinguished Professor of History, City University of New York.
Djavad Salehi-Isfahani, Professor of Economics, Virginia Tech.
Chris Toensing, Editor, Middle East Report, Washington, DC.
Kaveh Ehsani, editorial board of Middle East Report.
Sohrab Behdad, Professor and John E. Harris Chair in Economics, Department of Economics, Denison University.
Ali Akbar Mahdi, Professor of Sociology, Ohio Wesleyan University.
Guity Nashat, Associate Professor, University of Illinois, Chicago.
Mansour Farhang, Catharine Osgood Foster Chair, Bennington College.
Mahmoud Sadri, Associate Professor of Sociology, Texas Woman’s University.
Nader Hashemi, Post-Doctoral Fellow, Northwestern University.
Said A. Arjomand, Distinguished Service Professor, Department of Sociology, State University of New York.
Abdulaziz Sachedina, Frances Myers Ball Professor of Religious Studies, Department of Religious Studies University of Virginia.
Binesh Hassanpour, Dept. of Political Science, University of Toronto.
Farideh Farhi, Adjunct Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Hawaii at Manoa.
Maziar Behrooz, Assistant Professor of History, San Francisco State University.
Niloofar Haeri, Professor of Anthropology, Johns Hopkins University.
Deborah J. Gerner, Professor of Political Science and Co-director, Center for international Political Analysis
Mark Gasiorowski, Professor, Director, International Studies Program, Louisiana State University
Nayereh Tohidi, Professor of Women's Studies, California State University at Northridge.
Dr. Richard H. Beal, research associate, Hittitology, University of Chicago.
Kazem Alamdari, Department of Sociology, California State University, Los Angeles.
Norma Claire Moruzzi, Associate Professor, Political Science and Gender and Women's Studies, University of Illinois at Chicago.
Goudarz Eghtedari, Voices of the Middle East.
Laleh Khalili, Dept. of Politics and International Studies, School of Oriental and African Studies - London.
Kamran Rastegar, Assistant Professor of Arabic & Persian Literatures School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures, University of Edinburgh.
Andrew J Newman, Department of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies University of Edinburgh.
John Walbridge, Chair, Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, Director, Middle East and Islamic Studies Program, Indiana University.
Hamid Dabashi, Hagop Kevorkian Professor, of Iranian Studies and Comparative Literature, Columbia University.
Noam Chomsky, Institute Professor Emeritus of Linguistics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Majid Mohammadi, Classical and Near Eastern Studies Department, SUNY Binghamton.
Kamran Talattof, Associate Professor of Near Eastern Studies, The University of Arizona.
Mary Ann Tetreault, Una Chapman Cox Distinguished Professor of International Affairs, Trinity University, San Antonio TX.
Christine Dykgraaf, Adjunct Lecturer of Near Eastern Studies, University of Arizona.
Nader Entessar, Professor & Chair, Dept. of Political Science & Law, Spring Hill College.
Ann Elizabeth Mayer, Associate Professor of Legal Studies, Department of Legal Studies and Business Ethics, Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Behad Nakhai, Nuclear Engineer, Entergy Corporation.
Joel Walker, Assistant Professor, Department of History, University of Washington.
Charles E. Butterworth, Department of Government & Politics, University of Maryland
William A. Dorman, Professor of Government and Journalism, California State University, Sacramento.
David Yaghoubian, Assistant Professor of History , California State University, San Bernardino
Shahrough Akhavi, Professor of Political Science, University of South Carolina, Columbia.
Edward D. Martin, Director, Central and Southern Asia Program Mennonite Central Committee.
Charles D. Smith, Professor of Middle East History, Near Eastern Studies, University of Arizona.
Farhang Rajaee, Professor, Political Science & Humanities, Carleton University.
Hooshang Pazaki, Associate Professor of Sociology, Department of Sociology, East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania.
Sattareh Farman Farmaian, President Emeritus, College of Social Work, Tehran.
Majid Tehranian, Professor & Director, Toda Center for Globar Peace and Policy.
Darius Rejali, Professor of Political Science, Reed College.
Mona El-Ghobashy, Assistant Professor, Political Science, Barnard College, Columbia University.
Sussan Siavoshi, Professor of Political Science, Trinity University.
Jeffrey A. VanDenBerg, Associate Professor of Political Science and Director of Middle East Studies, Drury University.
Masoud Kheirabadi, Ph.D., International Studies Program, Portland State University.
Narges Erami, Dept. of Anthropology, Columbia University.
Farzaneh Milani, Professor of Persian Literature and Women Studies and Director of Studies in Women and Gender at the University of Virginia.
Ali R. Abootalebi, Professor of Middle Eastern and Global Studies, University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire.
Mohsen Mobasher, Associate Professor of Anthropology & Sociology, Department of Social Sciences, University of Houston.
Behrooz Ghamari-Tabrizi, Departments of History & Sociology, University of Illinois.
Sherry Vatter, Department of History, California State University, Long Beach.
Hassan Mohamadi Nejad, Professor of International Relations and Political Science, Antioch College, Antioch University.
Reza Afshari, Professor of History and Human Rights, Pace University.
Ali Mostashari, Ph.D., Editor, Iran Analysis Quarterly, Co-Founder, Iranian Studies Group at MIT.
David Filipi, Curator, Wexner Center for the Arts, The Ohio State University.
Matthew Gordon, Department of History, Miami University.
Negin Nabavi, Fellow, Middle East Center, University of Pennsylvania.
Mahmood Monshipouri, Professor, Political Science Dept., Quinnipiac University.
Hamideh Sedghi, Department of Political Science, Villanova University.
Hamid Hosseini, Professor of International Business and Economics King's College.
Janet Afary, Associate Professor of History, Purdue University.
Ariel Salzmann, Associate Professor of Islamic and World History, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario.
Zohreh T. Sullivan, Professor of English & Comparative Literature, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Arzoo Osanloo, Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology and Law Societies and Justice, University of Washington.
Arsalan Kahnemuyipour, Department of Languages, Literatures and Linguistics Syracuse University.
Shira Robinson, Assistant Professor, Department of Histor, University of Iowa.
Mojtaba Aghamohammadi, Coordinator, Project on Culture and Conflict (PCC), University of Arizona; Founder, Universal Coalition for Interfaith and Intercultural Dialogue and Discourse.
Poopak Taati, Ph.D., Media for Thought, Sociologist and Journalist, Washington DC.
Minoo Moallm, Professor of Women Studies, San Francisco State University.
Leila Hudson, Assistant Professor, Near Eastern Studies, University of Arizona.
Ali Mirsepassi, Interim Dean, Gallatin, School of Individualized Study, New York University.
Freeda Saba, Journalist/ TV commentator, IRTV Communications, The Iranian Television Program.
Jill Crystal, Professor, Department of Political Science, Auburn University.
Sheida Shirvani, Professor of Communication Studies, Ohio University-Zanesville.
Cyrus S. Behroozi, Professor Emeritus, Indiana University.
Mehran Kamrava, Professor of Political Science, California State University, Northridge.
Nancy Gallagher, Chair, Middle East Studies Program; Co-Director, Center for Middle East Studies; Professor of History, University of California, Santa Barbara.
Esfandiar Bakhtiarnejad, Georgia Institute of Technology; Chair, Center for Middle Eastern Research and Studies, Inc.
Zahra Taheri, Visiting Associate Professor, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies Tokyo.
Ali Ferdowsi, Ph.D., Chair, Department of History and Political Science, Notre Dame de Namaur University.
Kamal Aras, Dept. of Economics, Cologne University-Germany
Fereydoun Safizadeh, Lecturer, Dept. of Anthropology, Boston Uinv.
Fred Dallmayr, Packey J. Dee Professor of Philosophy and Political Science, University of Notre Dame.
Simin Karimi, Associate Professor, Department of Linguistics, University of Arizona.
Reza Farahani, Adjunct Professor, City College of City University of New York.
Robert A. Rubinstein, Professor of Anthropology and International Relations, The Maxwell School of Syracuse University.
Juan Cole, Professor, Middle East History, University of Michigan.
Keyvan Tabari, International Lawyer, San Francisco.
Shaun Marmon, Associate Professor, Department of Religion, Princeton University.
Timothy Mitchell, Professor of Politics, New York University, International Center for Advanced Studies.
Shahla Haeri, Director of Women's Studies and Associate Professor of Anthropoogy, Boston University.
Morgan L Phillips, Professor of Hebrew Scripture and Jewish History; Chair, Religion Department, Ohio Wesleyan University. .
John Damis, Professor of Political Science and Director, Middle East Studies Center, Portland State University.
Reza Baraheni, Iranian Poet & Novelist; Professor of Comparative Literature, University of Toronto; Former President of PEN Canada.
Nadine Naber, Assistant Professor, Program of American Culture and Department of Women's Studies, University of Michigan.
Hossein Bagher Zadeh, former Professor of Mathematics at Tehran University, Human Rights Activist.
Maboud Ansari, Professor of Sociology, William Paterson University.
Houchang Hassan-Yari, Professor and Head, Department of Political and Economic Science, Royal Military College of Canada.
Julia Clancy-Smith, Associate Professor of History, University of Arizona.
Touraj Daryaee, Associate Professor and Vice-Chair of History Department California State University, Fullerton.
Arang Keshavarzian, Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science Concordia University./li>
Kambiz GhaneaBassiri, Assistant Professor of Religion and Humanities, Reed College
Dr. Khaled Abou El Fadl, Professor of Law, UCLA School of Law.
Cyrus Bina, Ph.D., Distinguished Research Professor of Economics and Management, University of Minnesota.
Ali Behdad, Chair, Department of Comparative Literature, Professor of English and Comparative Literature, University of California, Los Angeles.
Mehdi Noorbaksh Ph.D., MBA, MHA, Assistant Professor, Center for International Studies, University of St. Thomas.
Hooshang Pazaki, Associate Professor of Sociology, Department of Sociology, East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania.
Naghmeh Sohrabi, Brandeis University.
Jasamin Rostam-Kolayi, Assistant Professor, Department of History, California State University, San Marcos.
Afshin Matin-asgari, Associate Professor, Middle East History, California State University, Los Angeles.
Shirin A. Khanmohamadi, Assistant Professor of Comparative and World Literature, San Francisco State University.
Wali Ahmadi, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Near Eastern Studies, University of California, Berkeley.
Mary Elaine Hegland, Associate Professor of Anthropology and Women & Gender Studies, Santa Clara University.
Nader Najafi, Ph.D., President & CEO, ISSYS Inc.
Haideh Salehi-Esfahani, Senior Lecturer in Economics, University of Washington.
Koorosh Angali, Ph.D., lecturer, University of California, Berkeley.
John Chalcraft, Ph.D., Lecturer in the History and Politics of Empire / Imperialism, Department of Government, London School of Economics.
Shahin Navai, Ph.D., Humboldt University, Germany.
Nahid Mozaffari, New York University.
A. Kamron Jabbari, Ph.D., President, Mazda Publishers, Inc.
Jaleh Pirnazar, Ph.D., Iranian Studies, Near Eastern Studies Dept, University of California, Berkeley.
Houri Berberian, Ph.D., Associate Professor/Graduate Advisor, Department of History, Director of Middle Eastern Studies Program, California State University, Long Beach.
Hussein Ibish, Ph.D., Executive Director, Foundation for Arab-American Leadership
Ali Zarrin, Lecturer, Regis University.
Barbara Emadi-Coffin, D.Phil., Senior Lecturer in International Relations Staffordshire University, UK.
Dariush Zahedi, Lecturer in International Political Economy and Peace and Conflict Studies, University of California, Berkeley.
Maryam Tabibzadeh, Author of Persian Dreams, Raeligh, NC.
Hamid Naficy, Nina J. Cullinan Professor of Art & Art History/Film and Media Studies, Rice University.
Omid Safi, Associate Professor of Islamic Studies, Colgate University.
Ghada Talhami, Professor of Politics, Lake Forest College.
Lawrence T. Geraty, President and Professor of Archaeology, La Sierra University.
Omnia El Shakry, Assistant Professor, Department of History University of California, Davis.
Camron Michael Amin, Associate Professor of History, The University of Michigan-Dearborn.
Dr. Esmail Koushanpour, Emeritus Professor, Northwestern University Medical School.
Adam H. Becker, Assistant Professor of Classics and Religious Studies New York University.
Hossein Kendy, Activist, Iran House of Greater Chicago.
Ahmad Karimi-Hakkak, Director, The Center for Persian Studies, University of Maryland.
Ali Rezaei, Department of Sociology, Universty of Calgary.
Mehdi Hashemi, President, Asian American Association for Advancement of Georgia.
Gladys Frantz-Murphy, History & Politics, Regis University.
Lisa Rofel, Professor, Graduate Director, Department of Anthropology, University of California, Santa Cruz.
Alan Richards, Professor of Economics and Environmental Studies University of California, Santa Cruz.
Muhammad Sahimi, NIOC Professor of Petroleum Engineering, Professor of Chemical Engineering & Materials Science, University of Southern California, Los Angeles.
Helene Moglen, Presidential Chair in Literature, University of California, Santa Cruz.
David E. Skinner, Professor of History, Santa Clara University, California.
Mehrdad Mashayekhi, Georgetown University, Dept. of Sociology.
Shouleh Vatanabadi, General Studies Program/Global Cultures, New York University.
Glenn E. Perry, Professor of Political Science, Indiana State University.
Hadi Jawad, Co-Founder Crawford Peace House.
Timothy May, Assistant Professor of Middle Eastern and Central Asian History Department of History, North Georgia College & State University.
Robert Crews, Assistant Professor, Department of History, Stanford University.
Todd Hasak-Lowy, Assistant Professor of Hebrew Language and Literature at the University of Florida.
Louise Halper, Professor of Law, Washington & Lee University School of Law Lexington, VA.
David Ede, Associate Professor of Comparative Religion (Islamic Studies), Western Michigan University.
Martin Love, Middle East Writer/Journalist, American Academy of Palestine Tubas, West Bank, Palestine.
Adam Sabra, Assistant Professor of History, Western Michigan University.
Ali M. Sadegh, Professor, City University of New York
Christopher Stone, Associate Professor of Arabic, Hunter College of the City University of New York.
Bahman Fozouni, Ph.D., Professor & Chair, Department of Government, Director, Iranian & Middle Easter Studies Center, California State University, Sacramento.
Nader Rastegar, Independent Researcher.
Mina Safizadeh, Adjunct Professor of Sociology, University of Massachusetts Amherst.
James A. Paul, Executive Director, Global Policy Forum, Ne York.
Masha Rahnama, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Economics, Economics and Geography Department, Texas Tech University.
F. Jamil Ragep, Professor of the History of Science, University of Oklahoma.
Wendy DeSouza, PhD candidate in Modern Middle East History, University of California, Los Angeles.
John F. Robertson, Professor of Middle Eastern History, Central Michigan University.
Bahar Fata, Ph.D. candidate, University of Southern California
Ulrike Siddiqi, President, Pan-Pacific and Southeast Asia Women's Association, Hawaii
Donald Alford Weadon, Jr., International Lawyer, Weadon & Associates, Washington DC.
Reza Ghorashi, Professor of Political Economy, Richard Stockton College, New Jersey.
K.V. Nagarajan, Laurentian University, Sudbury, Ontario.
Edmund Burke, III, Director, Center for World History, University of California, Santa Cruz
Professor Juan E. Campo, Department of Religious Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara.
A. Verdi Farmanfarmaian, Professor Emeritus, Former Chairman and Graduate Director, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ.
Gladys Frantz-Murphy, Professor of Middle East History, Regis University, Denver.
Marjorie Cohn, Professor of Law, Thomas Jefferson School of Law President-elect, National Lawyers Guild.
Arash Khazeni, Assistant Professor of History, Claremont McKenna College.
Supporters: (Add your signature)

Asef Bayat, Professor and Academic Director, International Institute for the Study of Islam in the Modern World and Chair, Leiden University, The Netherlands.
Richard Tapper, Emeritus Professor of Anthropology, University of London
Andrea Kavanaugh, Senior Research Scientist, Virginia Tech.
Monireh Mohammadi, Director, Richmond Hill Academy of Music & Arts.
Fatemeh Haghighatjoo, Visiting Scholar, Center for International Studies, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Mark Rupert, Professor of Political Science, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.
Betty Williams, Nobel Peace Laureate; President and Founder World Centers of Compassion for Children International
Haleh Afshar, OBE, Professor of Politics University of York
Turi Munthe, Fellow, Middle East Program, Royal United Services Institute, London.
Daniel Thomas, University of Pittsburgh, Russian and European Studies.
Ahmad Hadavi, Associate Director, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Northwestern University.
Nader Haghighipour, University of Hawaii, Institute for Astronomy.
Maria Sabaye Moghaddam, Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto.
Diala Al Jabri, Media/Political and Socio-Economic Analyst, Higher Council for Science and Technology, Amman, Jordan.
Saideh Lotfian, Associate Professor, Faculty of Law and Political Science, University of Tehran
Taghi Azadarmaki, Professor in Sociology, Social Science Faculty, The University of Tehran; Visiting Professor at New York University.
Golbarg Bashi, Department of Middle East and Asian Languages and Cultures, Columbia University.
Jahan Salehi, International Director, Agence Global.
Shahram Mostarshed, Member of the Board of Directors (US), Campaign Against Sanctions and Military Intervention in Iran (CASMII).
Siamak Namazi, Managing Director, Atieh Bahar Consulting.
Ziba Mir-Hosseini, Research Associate, London Middle East Institute.
Fred A. Reed, Outremont, Québec Author: Persian Postcards; Anatolia Junction; Shattered Images.
Rami G. Khouri, Syndicated columnist, Beirut, Lebanon.
Bjørn Olav Utvik, Associate Professor, Director of Middle East Studies University of Oslo.
Dr. M. Parvizi Amineh, Senior Research Fellow, International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS), University of Leiden.
Siavash Abghari, Professor and Chairman Dept. of Business Administration.
Jahanshah Javid, Publisher, Iranian.com.
Amir Zanjanian, M.D., Clinical Assistant Professor, University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey
Sherry Shokouhi, Psychotherapist, Queens Child Guidance Center.
Ghassem Ghassemi, Visiting Researcher, Max-Planck-Institut für ausländisches und internationales Strafrecht, Germany.
Carol Key, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Tarleton State Unviversity.
PhD Hossein Sheiban, Senior Lecturer, Department of History, Stockholm University.
Azadeh Kian-Thiébaut, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Paris.
Kenneth P. Goodrich, Ph. D., Retired Vice President of Academic Affairs Linfield College, McMinnville, Oregon.
Reza Fani Yazdi, California Department of Health Services.
Dr. David N. Rahni, Professor of Chemistry, Adj. Professor of Environmental Law, Pace University, New York; Adj. Professor of Dermatology, NY Medical College.
Mateo Farzaneh, Center for Middle East Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara.
Thomas M. Ricks, Ph.D.
Tayebeh Rezaie, M.Sc., Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Molecular Ophthalmic Genetics Laboratory, Department of Surgery, University of Connecticut Health Center.
Mohamad Navab, Professor of Cardiology, University of California, Los Angeles.
Azam Niroomand-Rad, PhD, Professor; President, International Organization For Medical Physics,Department of Radiation Medicine, Georgetown University Medical Center.
Thomas A. Green, Associate Director of Libraries & Head of Public Services L. A. Beeghly Library, Ohio Wesleyan University.
Marguerite G. Rosenthal, Ph.D., Professor & MSW Coordinator, School of Social Work, Salem State College.
Shirine Mafi, Associate Professor, Otterbein College.
Ida Mirzaie, Department of Economics and Finance, John Carroll University.
Lowell S. Gustafson, Director, Graduate Program in Liberal Studies Villanova University.
Aziz Karamlou, M.D, UCLA school of Medicine
Shahrzad Mojab, Professor and Director, Women and Gender Studies Institute, University of Toronto.
Katayoun Khosravani, MD, Preventive Medicine Physician, University of Maryland.
Ali Nayeri, Department of Physics, Harvard University.
Mahmood Shafizadeh, President Board of Education Orange Crescent School, Member Executive Committee Islamic Society of Orange County.
Mohammad Haji-Abdolhosseini, Applied Linguistics & Technology and Human Computer Interaction, Iowa State University.
Abbas Edalat, Professor of Computer Science and Mathematics Department of Computing, Imperial College, London.
Afsaneh Matin, DDS, Assistant Professor, University of Southern California.
J. R. Aman, Associate Professor of Computer Science, Saint Xavier University.
Bahar Bastani MD, Professor of Internal Medicine, Saint Louis University, Missouri.
Judith Caesar, Associate Professor of English, American University of Sharjah.
Kevin B. Anderson, Associate Professor of Political Science and Sociology Purdue University.
Giuseppe Palleschi, Head of the Department, Università di Roma Tor Vergata Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Chimiche, Roma.
Dr Stephanie Cronin, Research Fellow, University of Northampton
Soraya Nouri, MD, Emeritus Professor of Pediatrics at St. Louis University, Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at Washington University St. Louis.
Bahram (Bob) Farahmand, Ph.D., Boeing Technical Fellow, Fatigue & Fracture Mechanics (Analysis & Testing).
Saeed Honarmand, Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, Ohio State University.
Jalil Roshandel, Department of Political Science, Duke University.
Richard Peterson, Department of Philosophy, Michigan State University.
Jaleh Taghavi Miller, President, Persian American Women's Network, San Francisco.
Louis Kriesberg, Maxwell Professor Emeritus of Social Conflict Studies, Syracuse University.
Dr. Susanna S. Bellocq, Professor, Ohio Wesleyan University
Benjamin Wolf, Cinematographer, New York City
Elham Semsar, Concordia University.
Ghassem Ghassemi, Visiting Researcher, Max-Planck-Institut für ausländisches und internationales Strafrecht, Germany.
Siavash Ansari, CPA, CMA.
Reza Saberi, Pharm. D., Ph.D, Science Writer.
Rusti Findley, Executive Assistant to Betty Williams, Nobel Peace Laureate President and Founder - World Centers of Compassion for Children International.
Ramezan Dowlati, PhD, Northern Virginia Community College.
Bahram Zahir Azami, Ph.D. CTO, Hivva Technologies.
Abdolreza Sadri, B.Sc. UMIST, M.Sc. Mel. Construction Management.
Rostam Pourzal, Journalist; Board of Directors, Iranian Cultural Association of Washington DC.
Mandana Kompani, PhD.
Amir Farrahi, Ph.D. Senior Staff Engineer, Sun Microsystems, Inc., Sunnyvale.
Mohammad H. Naraghi, Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering Manhattan College, Riverdale, New York.
Saeed Manii, Senior Manager with the Telecommunication Industry.
Kaveh Tashakori, Architect, Bethesda, MD.
Alan Martin, College of Engineering, San Jose State University.
Mirjam Künkler, Ph.D. Candidate, Columbia University, Department of Political Science.
Nahid Saberi, Ph.D. candidate, McGill University.
Hamid Rezai, PhD Candidate, Columbia University.
Mujeeb R. Khan, Doctoral Student, Dept. of Political Science, The University of California-Berkeley
Lawrence Reza Ershaghi, Candidate for J.D. at Chicago-Kent School of Law Sadegh Farzaneh, PhD Candidate, Concordia University.
Trita Parsi, Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University SAIS
Ahmad Jalili M.D., Ph.D., Division of Immunology, Allergy and Infectious Diseases (DIAID) Department of Dermatology, Medical University of Vienna.
Miriam Jiménez Román, Queens College, City University of New York.
Hoss H. Ravandi, President. EzItSolutions
Robert G. Newby, Professor of Sociology, Central Michigan University.
Hoora Naeimi, M.A. Candidate in Economics, Concordia University.
Sami Zubaida, Emeritus Professor of Politics and Sociology, University of London.
Nemat Sarnevesht, Director, Web and Architecture, Openwave Systems.
Pardis Minuchehr, Ph.D., NELC Department, University of Pennsylvania.
Behdokht Neshat, Founder and CEO, Institute for Advancement of Democracy, New York
Sally M.Ameli, Accounting Clerk.
Ata Alijani M.D., Radiology Resident, SUNY Upstate Medical University.
Jalil Doostkhah, Ph.D., former Professor, University of Isfahan; Editor of Center for Iranian Studies, Australia.
Majid Mirmontahai, Middle East studies and Independent Journalist, Washington DC.
Khosrow Hassani, Ph.D. Candidate, McGill University, Canada.
Nader Sadeghi, MD, FRCSC, Associate Professor of Surgery; Director, Head and Neck Surgery George Washington University.
Iraj Ershaghi, Omar B. Milligan Professor and Director of the Petroleum Engineering Program, University of Southern California.
Amy Watts, Research Assistant, San Francisco.
Lily Yazdi
Ryan R. Farsai, Laguna Hills.
Dr. Niloofar Gheissari, Postdoc Researcher, National ICT Australia (NICTA), Canberra.
Roya Sedighian, IT Specialist, New York.
Abbas Semsar, Shiraz University, Iran.
Mehrdad Nourani, Associate Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Texas at Dallas.
Helia Naeimi, Computer Science Graduate Student, California Institute of Technology.
Allahyar Kangarlu, Ph.D., Senior Physicist, Faculty of Clinical Neurosciences, Columbia University and New York State Psychiatric Institute.
Leyli Shayegan, Teachers College Press, Teachers College, Columbia University.
Shahab Alizadeh
Dr. Mohammad Amin
Mohammad H. Naraghi, Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Manhattan College.
Reza Karimi, Artist and Art Conservator.
Benjamin Wolf, Cinematographer, New York City.
Armin Sorooshian, Graduate Student, Department of Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology.
Bijan Moshaver, Medical Scientist, VU University, The Netherlands
Ali Eghbal, MS EE
Kambiz Hassani, Civil Servant, New Zealand.
Saeed Ghanbari, Ph.D. Candidate, Centre for Atom Optics & Ultrafast Spectroscopy (CAOUS), Swinburne University of Technology, Australia.
Seyed Vahid Ghavam Shahidi, EE, Sydney.
Evan Siegel, Ph.D., New Jersey City University.
Maryam Nikizad, M.S of Electrical Engineering, USC.
Niloufar Afshar, SUNY New Paltz, New York.
Mohammad Ala, Ph.D., Professor of Management
Riaz Tejani, Ph.D. Candidate Princeton University, J.D. Candidate USC Law School
Behnam Kamali, Ph.D., Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering, Mercer University.
Maybritt Jill Alpes, Fondation nationale des sciences politiques, Paris.
Carol Key, Professor of Sociology, Tarleton State Universiy
Oranus Dabestani
Kaveh Karimi, M.S. Candidate in Nuclear Engineering ,Tehran Science and Research Azad University.
Kia Bazargan, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Minnesota.
M. Khatamee, M.D., FACOG, Professor, NYU School of Medicine, Executive Director, Fertility Research Foundation.
Hossein Partovi, California State University, Sacramento.
Fariba Adelkhah, CERI/Sciences-po, Paris.
Shaghayegh Azimi, MA Candidate MA student of Middle East Politics at the School of Oriental and African Studies, Coordinating editor of the London Middle East Institute's magazine in London.
Jeffrey Montez de Oca, Doctoral Candidate, Department of Sociology, University of Southern California.
Reza Tayebnejad, Ph.D.
Ramon Blecua, Diplomat, Spain.
Tobias Etzold, Ph.D. candidate, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK.
Soroosh Sorooshian, UCI Distinguished Professor, Deptartment of Civil Engineering, University of California, Irvine.
Hengameh Hanna Tadbiri. Registered Nurse.
Nastaran Moossavi, Visiting Professor of International Studies, Trinity College, Connecticut; Member, Iranian Writers Association.
Mina Shirvai, MA, Financial Planner
Saeed Sokhanvar, P.Eng., Ph.D. Candidate, Concordia University.
Masood Irani, P.E.
M. Reza Vaghefi, Professor, University of North Florida.
Dr Shuaib Manjra, Occupational and Environmental Health Physician, Cape Town.
Saeed Paivandi, Professor, Director Dept. of Education, University Paris VIII.
Roobik Gharabagi, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering, Saint Louis University.
Loes Bijnen, Activist for Human Rights in Iran, The Netherlands.
Jim Kenney, Executive Director, Interreligious Engagement Project, Lake Forest, Illinois.
Darius Kadivar, Film Historian, Author and Journalist.
Curtis Bronson, Advisory IT Specialist.
Hossein Akhlaghpour, CEO, ObjectJ Inc.
Nanna Keeling
Bijan Pirzadeh, M.S. of Civil Engineering
Asal Pirzadeh, Doctoral Student
Eva Patricia Rakel, Lecturer, University of Amsterdam
Ulrik Svensson, Senior Software Consultant, Ford Motor Company.
Reza Goharzad, Journalist.
Maziar Moini, Real Estate Consultant.
Sina Amoushahi, M.S. of Mining Engineering, Research & Science Campus, Iran
Fereshteh Kianersi, Staff Strategic Alliances Manager, Synopsys.
Lynn N. Villagran, MSW, Social Worker, San Jose, California.
Lana Jennifer van Galen, LanavanAtelier, Barrabool, Victoria, Australia.
Nadia Sorkhabi, PhD, future Professor of Child and Family Studies, California State University, Los Angeles.
Manochehr Dorraj, Professor, Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, Texas.
Mohsen Shakerin, Project Management Consultant.
Hassan Soleimani, Ph.D. Candidate, University of Wales, UK
Soodabeh Shakerin, Vice President, Wells Fargo Bank.
Hani Salehi, MD, Harvard Medical School, Department of Ophthalmology
Elahe Mohtashemi, Real Estate Broker.
Manucher Mohtashemi, MD, FACS, Cardiac Surgeon (Ret.)
Iraj Imam, Ph.D., The Center for Applied Local Research, Richmond, CA.
Mahnaz Aria
Mazdak Vaezpour, University of California, Los Angeles.
Zohreh Keshavarz, Ph.D. Candidate, Australia.
Bahram Dahi, Ph.D. Candidate, Biomedical Engineering, University of Tennessee Health Science Center.
Amir Abbassi, Ph.D., LPC, LMFT, Assistant Professor, Department of Counseling, Texas A& M University
Mahmood Karbasi, Software Professional, San Jose, CA.
Mahdokht Sanati
Amy J. Hopkins, Senior Help Desk Analyst.
Soheila Lighvani, Director, Design Engineering, Toshiba America Electronic Components, San Jose, CA.
Aidin Vahedi
Amir Moayedi, Medical School, University of Geneva, Switzerland.
Daryoush Mehrshahi, Geography Department, Yazd University, Yazd, Iran.
Ophelia Parvizad, Marketing Manager, Pezhvak of Persia.
Nazanin Amani
Nina Zumpalova, MA Candidate, School of Oriental and African Studies, London.
Firouzeh Mohajer, Lecturer, Tehran University.
Ashk Dahlén, Ph.D., Uppsala University, Sweden.
Shouraei Samahat, Radio Ghasedak / An Iranian radio program, Zürich
Forough Nayeri Tamimi, Cultural Antropologist
Silke Riemann, M.A., PhD Candidate, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Politikwissenschaft I, Germany.
Steven Galovich, Professor of Mathematics, Lake Forest College.
Majid Movahed, Civil Engineer.
Ahmed Vawda, Deputy Director: Higher Education, South African Qualifications Authority.
Mozafar Banihasemi, University of New Mexico, Department of Sociology
Hossein Samakar, Author, California.
Behrad Majdabadi
Mirko Bastian, Consultant, Caritas, Germany.
Shirin Pakfar, United Nations
Kamran Arjomand Ph.D., Middle East Special Subject Collection, University and State Library of Saxony-Anhalt, Martin Luther University, Halle, Germany.
Arghavan Sadeghi, MFT, Marriage and Family Therapist.
Siavash Abghari, Chair, Dept. of Business Administration Morehouse College.
Fataneh Scampa.
Gibran Mir, Account Executive.
Pantea Javidan, Law Offices, Emeryville, CA.
Shervin Malekzadeh, Ph.D. candidate, Government, Comparative Politics Georgetown University.
Javad Mirsaidi, PE, CCM.
Naheed Kalhor, University of California San Francisco.
Ali Javadian.
Mohsen Nejad, Political Activist.
Rennie B. Schoepflin, Professor of History, California State University, Los Angeles.
Morteza Tajally, CEO, PMP, Inc., San Jose, CA.
Sara Hajiamiri, Assistant Policy Analyst & PhD fellow, RAND Graduate School.
Rikki Braas amd Abbas Shafii, Amsterdam.
Mona Ghassemi, high school student, Montreal.
Firooz Afiattalab.
Amir E. Piroozfar, Ph.D. candidate, School of Architecture, University of Sheffield, UK.
Hooman Heydarbeygi, PhD, Economist/Biometrician.
Ubaldo Cordova-Figueroa, California Institute of Technology.
Mokhtar Paki, Artist / College instructor, California College of the Arts.
Nader Entezam.
Seyf Ehdaie, Associate Professor of Environmental Science, University of Texas of the Permian Basin.
Reza Javidan, Teacher, San Francisco Unified School District.
Ali Karbassi, IT Consultant, London.
Alireza Daneshkhah, PhD, Research Associate, Department of Probability and Statistics, University of Sheffield.
Mohsen Aarabi, MB ChB, MPH, PhD Candidate, Academic Unit of Clinical Pharmacology Division of Clinical Sciences (South) University of Sheffield.
Mohammad Hassan Nasiri, Ph.D. candidate, University of Sheffield, UK.
Pegah Zhafereh, Iran CFC Accountant.
Ali Noorollahi.
Booker T. Gibson, New York public school teacher (ret.)
Firooz Behseresht, Chartered Surveyor, Scotland, UK.
Parviz Forghani
Michael Schaefer, former Adjunct Professor of History, Adult Services Provider, St. Louis Public Library, St. Louis, MO.
Parviz Boroumand, P.E. Civil Engineer.
Tineke Lintjens, Coördinator Stem in de Stad , the Netherlands.
Mehri Ansari, S.E
Mohammad Manzarpour, Journalist, Producer.
Manoo Missaghi, President & CEO WebViews Inc., Toronto, Canada.
Maziar Shirazi.
Cyrus Khalatbari, Toronto.
Hassan Zeheri, writer.
Fred Missaghi, Richmond Hill, Ontario.
Jay Sharifi, P. Eng., Brampton, Ontario.
Mohammad Govahi,
Ahmad Sakhavarz, Political Cartoonist.
Hossein Honarmand, School of Busuness Management, Ryerson University, Toronto.
Hormoz Vahid, Public Works Engineering.
Bahram S. Biria, MS CE, Canada.
Hossein Nikdel, IT & Engineering Diretor.
Nuchine Nobari, President, Library Technology Alliance, NY.
Amir Mazinani, Ph.D.
Nakisa Malakooti, Researcher, Melbourne, Australia.
Carole Srole, California State University at Los Angeles.
Brooke Glass-O'Shea, Law Student, Gould School of Law, USC.
Mir Fazeli, Political Science student, York University, Canada.
Jeff Akbarzadeh, A professional on camera technologies.
Alberta Rozsay, student, University of Nevada Las Vegas.
Zoya Zarafshani, studeM.Sc. Candidate, Polymer Engineering and Science, Technical University of Berlin, Germany.
Abdool Valodia, C E O, Superfoam C C, South Africa.
Majid Ahmadi, Professor, Director of Research Center for Integrated Microsystems Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering University of Windsor, Ontario.
Tobias Keil, M.A. of Political Science and History, Author, Germany.
Esmail Hejazifar, Ph.D., Professor of Physics, Wilmington College.
Homa Assar, Scientist.
Monda Tajbakhsh.
Zeb Akbar. Working Together.
Esmaeel Naeemi, Ph.D., Faculty at Seattle Community College Seattle, Washington.
Niaz Salimi, President,The Muslim Canadian Congress.
Arif Maftuhin, The Jackson School of International Studies, University of Washington.
Hoda Mirafzal, Undergraduate Chemical Engineering Student at Cooper Union, New York.
Omar Tawakol, Concerned Citizen.
Hoseyn Rahbar.
Jeffrey Bass, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Lake Forest College
Fariba Sahraei, Journalist.
Behrouz Vafa, Co-founder of Financial Sciences Corp, NJ.
Foruohar Aghili, UMA University asistant in Renewable Energy Dept.
Davoud Navaian B. Sc., Chemical Engineering, Teacher, Gothenburg; Sweden
Fatemeh Ebtehaj, Associate member, Centre for Family Research, University of Cambridge.
Shahrzad Afshinpour, Electrical Engineer, Raleigh, NC.
Mary Shahrzad Ossati from England.
Amir Torkamani, USC Gould School of Law.
M. Hadi Hadizadeh, Visiting Research Professor, John E. Edwards Accelerator Laboratory, Department of Physics & Astronomy, Ohio University.
Sima Shakhsari, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Cultural and Social Anthropology Stanford University.
Amir Naghshineh-Pour, Aerospace Engineer, San Diego, CA.
Fanny V.Heymann, psychologist consultancy from The Netherlands.
Sina Emami, Aerospace Engineer, San Diego, California.
Rana Rabei, Neurobiology and Physiology undergraduate student at University of Maryland .
Ali Shokouhbakhsh, Economics Instructor, Bay Area Community Colleges California.
Masoud Rezvani.
Leela B.Ghaffari, Assistant Professor, New York University.
Fereshteh Kujoory.
Ali Torkamani, Ph.D. Candidate, Biomedical Sciences, University of California, San Diego.
Denis Salter, Professor, McGill University.
Amir Yavari, Application Support Specialist.
Betty Farrahi, Farsi teacher.
Shapour Neshatfar, Ph.D., Vice President, Goldman Sachs.
Fariborz Shokoofh, Vice President, ABB Schweiz AG.
Soody Neshatfar, Systems Engineer.
Babak Daraie, CTO, Walnut Creek, CA.
Mehri Farzaneh, Telecommunication Software Engineer Columbus, Ohio.
Musa Marashi.
Nadine Kollmeyer, Social Scientist, Germany.
Mohsen Kermanshahi, DDS.
Morteza Ghassemi, Ph.D., Research and Development in Telecommunication Industry.
Ronnie D. Lipschutz, Professor of Politics, University of California, Santa Cruz.
Walter Goldfrank, Depts. of Sociology and of Latin American & Latino Studies, Univ of California, Santa Cruz.
Ruby Rodriguez, Ph.D. candidate in anthropology, UC Santa Cruz.
Pilgrim J. Jackson, Postdoctoral researcher, University of California, Irvine.
Jennifer A. Gonzalez, Associate Professor, History of Art and Visual Culture University of California, Santa Cruz.
E.G. Crichton, Associate Professor of Art, UC Santa Cruz.
Massood Seyedin, Ph.D. Professor of Mathematics, El Camino College.
Fereshteh Khajehnouri.
Fariba Mirbaha, Ph.D. Candidate, University of North Texas.
Jennifer Yaghoubian, High School Teacher, Redlands, CA.
Ken Bonetti, MS Economics, Academic Advisor, Department of Economics University of Colorado.
Keith Lammers, Director, Library & Learning Resources Gerard Cottet Library Pennsylvania College of Optometry.
Matthew Alford
Paul V. Van Merode, Advisor, Brussels, Belgium.
Gary Goodpaster, Professor of Law Emeritus, UC Davis, School of Law.
Rev. Charles Cornell, Ecumenical and Interfaith Officer, Episcopal Diocese of Northern California.
Leonard Koscianski, Professor, Art Department, Anne Arundel Community College, Annapolis, Maryland.
Anne Gagnon, Former Professor at University of Quebec at Montreal.
Peter C. Haney, Ph.D., Lecturer in Mexican American Studies, University of Texas at Austin.
Charles Hoerr, Childcare Worker, SUNY New Paltz.
Benj Hellie, Professor, Department of Philosophy, University of Toronto.
Tim C. Smith, Ph.D. Indianapolis, IN.
Dr. Thomas C. Hull, Associate Professor of Mathematics, Merrimack College North Andover, MA.
Tim C. Smith, Ph.D., Scientist.
William D. Fergus, Jr., Attorney at Law.
Dr Casem Majd, Vice President of a Telecommunications Company.
Alex Abramowicz, Los Angeles.
Luke Gelinas, Ph.D. Candidate, University of Toronto.
Joanna Picciotto, UC Berkeley, Department of English.
Stephen Roddy, Associate Professor of Modern & Classical Languages, University of San Francisco.
Kooshy Afshar, President, Printup Graphics.
Mori Dinauer, Political Science, Graduate Student, Portland State University.
Jennifer Jones, Ph.D., Highline Community College.
Martin van Bruinessen, Professor, International Institute for the Study of Islam in the Modern World, and Utrecht University, The Netherlands.
Francis A. Mlynarczyk, Jr., Ph.D., New York.
Joel H. Shapiro, Department of Mathematics, Michigan State University.
Jia-Jia Zhu, Undergraduate at University of Albany.
Poulod Borojerdi, student.
Daniel J. Philbin, SMSgt USAF(Ret.)
Isis Stafford, politics student at the University of York.
Behrooz Sheyda, Literary Critic, Stockholm, Sweden.
Abbass Bozorg, Assistant Professor of Financial Economics, Boston University.
Paul Raymond Gunderman, Former Adjunct Assitant Professor, Business and Management, Cardinal Stritch University, Milwaukee Wisconsin.
Farshid Ketabchi, Irvine, California.
Marc Ferguson, Professor of History, American International College.
Reza Shirazi, TV producer
Ray Ormandy, Associate Professor (retired), Literature Dept., Seijo University, Tokyo.
Azita Mashayekkhi, MHS, Staff Industrial Hygienist, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Washington, DC.
Eugene Kelly, Professor, Roanoke College, Virginia.
Will Jennings, Lecturer, The University of Iowa.
Ali Faegh, Professor of Economics, Northwest College, Houston.
Joyce Neu, Executive Director, Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice, University of San Diego.
Majid Zamani, MPA Candidate in Public Administration, Columbia University.
Dr. Hugh McElwain, Professor of Religion, Dominican University, River Forest, IL.
karen Brand.
William Coleman, Film Production Manager.
Janet McCracken, Provost and Dean of the Faculty, Professor of Philosophy Lake Forest College.
Jawed Siddiqi , Professor of Software Engineering, Informatics Research Group Sheffield Hallam University.
Reza Sahandi, Bournemouth University, UK.
Ardeshir Anbarestani, Sweden.
Ana Echague, Researcher, FRIDE, Madrid.
Pooya Hashemi, Mechanical Engineer.
Janne Bjerre Christensen, Ph.D. candidate, Roskilde University, Denmark.
Forogh Hashabeiky, Ph.D., Iranian Languages, Researcher and lecturer at Uppsala University, Sweden.
Gary Yeritsian, Undergraduate Student, History, International Relations University of Southern California.
Ali R. Borojerdi, P.E., Needham, MA.
Denise Conner, Graduate student (Chemistry) at Pennsylvania State University.
Katie Moore, Graduate Student, Peace & Justice Studies, University of San Diego.
Danusia Garrison, MA candidate International Peace and Justice Studies, University of San Diego.
Mark Woods, Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy, University of San Diego.
Michael Chejlava, Chemist, Lafayette College.
James Gill, Commerce, CA.
Steve Snyder, Editor, Dallas, TX.
Edward Danforth, Returning Scholar, University of Chicago.
Amir Oskui, Student and Political commentator, Kuwait.
Alex Najafi, M.A., USF International Relations.
Khosrow Aryan, President, Pacific Realty & Mgmt. Chicago.
Ardeshir Anbarestani.
Maryam Molavi, Urban Planner/ Architect California.
Nooshin Vassei.
Zinda Mahmood Bajwa, Secretary Public Affairs, Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam, USA.
Sassan Rahimzadeh, V.P. Rahimzadeh Investment Group, Inc.
Alex R. Zebarjadian, MS., Senior Industrial Hygienist, San Francisco, California.
Nasser Kanani, Professor of Materials Science, Berlin University of Technology (TUB) Berlin, Germany.
Hadi Moradi, Ph.D., Research Professor, Intelligent Systems Research Center, SKKU.
Mohammad Nariman, M.S. Electrical Engineering, University of Southern California.
Jan Keulen, Journalist, Chairman Communication for Development Foundation, The Netherlands.
Michael A. O'Toole Jr., Professor Emeritus, Schoolcraft College.
Joshua Goldstein, Assistant Professor, History Department, USC.
Martin Stewart.
Jim Roberts, Ph.D., Retired.
Timothy Hammond-Williams, father of two, ordinary citizen, concerned American Oregon City, Oregon USA.
John Chandler, Winston-Salem, NC.
Reza Naghshineh-pour, Industrial Engineer, San Jose, CA.
Betty Molchany, J.D., Front Royal, VA.
Stephen Oren, Ph.D.
Molly Rad, MD
Roksana Bahramitash, Ph.D., Concordia Univeresity, Montreal.
Edmund Acton Schofield, Jr., Ph.D., Boylston, Massachusetts.
Laura Pollecutt, Ceasefire Campaign, South Africa.
Susan M. Waters
Dr. Nadia El-Sayed El-Shazly, Former Assistant Professor Dept of Political Science, American University in Cairo.
Mariam Gheshlaghi, student at Red Cross Nordic United World College.
Daniel Bonilla-Torres, Opera Singer and Actor.
Habeeb Al-Aidroos, Lakefield, Ontario
Jim Glasson
Tsewang Bhuti, student at Red Cross Nordic United World College, Norway.
Maricel D. Avena.
Ali Raiss-Tousi, Journalist in London, England.
Howard Winant, Professor of Sociology, University of California, Santa Barbara.
Douglas Bennett, Chairperson for Citizens for Responsible Government, Redding, CA.
Dr Ross Wilcock, grandfather, Canada.
Inayat I. Lalani M.D. Delegate, 2004 Democratic National Convention.
Mariano Giampietri, Red Cross Nordic United World College.
Lawrence M. Firman
Gunvant Govindjee, Teacher of Human Rights, Red Cross Nordic University

Others can click on the goddamn link provided.
Here it is again, just to make it clearer: AntiWarPetition.com

Funny, this guy who claims there are "no credible Iran experts" is himself hardly qualified to judge other people's credibility on the issue & has probably never set foot in Iran himself but he feels free to opine about Iran-this and Iran-that.

Where does TPM get these guys?

Ah hass, you fail to understand the unimpeachable logic of these things. Since the experts on your list are strongly opposing and warning against the military option in Iran, they are a fortiori "not credible". Only experts who refrain from warning politicians and the public about the dangers of attacking Iran qualify as credible.

Your failure to grasp this simple rule of US foreign policy management hereby qualifies you as a non-credible blog commentator.

Don't you know the consensus for keeping all the Iran options on the table is incredibly broad? It stretches all the way from one end of the Council on Foreign Relations to the other.

I’ve always tried to stay out of this debate in this venue, but this setting of this litmus test is not only dangerous – it’s dangerously misguided.

Well, you know Mr. Baer, I would like to be able to assure our esteemed candidates that I will not use a firm anti-war, pro-talks Iran position as a litmus test of their candidacy, but as a mere voter without a lot of leverage to bring to bear on moving candidates toward my prefered position, I feel it is important to keep all my options on the table.

I think you need to come to grips with the realities of democracy. It is not in the public interest if rascally politicians are convinced that they can proliferate noxious political gas on Iran, without facing the possibility of a firm electoral response. So I will refrain from taking the "no antiwar litmus test" pledge at this time. Consider my position one of "strategic ambiguity."

By the way, why have you "tried to stay out of this debate in this venue"? Some might think it's actually an important debate. Perhaps it is the terror felt by that "wide range of experts in Washington" of participating in debate on Iran outside of the constricted circle of approved, orthodox venues that accounts for the confusions, gaps and double-thinking group-think on display in their reasoning. And maybe that's what accounts for the fact that our candidates are all getting the same uniformly bad advice.

Daniel, I know you are smart enough to realize that there are an infinite number of options between waging another preemptive war and unilateral surrender. I have never heard a single US citizen ask that we surrender at any time in my 70 + years on this planet. And, that will not change, I am sure. Defeatism is nothing but a charged word devoid of meaning. Usage of that word in an otherwise intelligent debate adds nothing at all of value.

Mr. Baer, I suspect, is much more concerned with what would happen to the "defense" industry if we really did take the option to wage preemptive wars on a whim off the table. I'm disappointed in him.

Hoppy in Sacramento

Touche'! Point, set and match! He scores!! Grand Slam!

Hoppy in Sacramento

It would hurt America’s interests right now if Iran felt that they could proliferate without ultimately facing a military response.

The issue has never been about Iran proliferating (for that we have Pakistan, our friend). It's been about building a bomb and changing the deterrence equation in the middle east. Is Baer mendacious or ignorant?

Baer's "seasoned experts" ! (Gotta love the seasoning. Paging Kenneth Pollack.)

If I had the time to Google

I can picture Bush saying something like that.
"So time-consuming the googles."

elements of the liberal blogosphere are trying to make the case that Democratic candidates for president need to meet a new litmus test on Iran: forswear any military action against Tehran.

Which dirty hippie blogofascist elements are saying this, please?

Isn't the litmus test now simply "More evidence than 'Because Cheney says so'"? 

Dissent Protects Democracy.

Ah, yes. Now I found the link.

Even with underlining, a single-word link is easy to miss. I like to select a complete phrase and make it bold type.

Mr, Baer, You are in the communications business. We have no idea where your money is coming from or who your clients are. IIRC, one of your posts about an Iranian cartoon was lifted off the MEMRI website, of all places.

Who or what group is paying your bills?

Daniel: we so often differ so vehemently on other issues that I find myself surprised to find at least one point of agreement with you here. (We also disagree, I believe, on the amount of risk actually posed by Iran.)

Be that as it may, thinking of this issue purely in political terms, we need only to remember the way the Swift Boaters went after Kerry to realize the risk of such a stand. However dishonest it might be, there inevitably will be opinion-shapers on the right that will paint them as defeatists, should the democratic candidates all say that they would never attack Iran, and a significant number of voters (including some that might tend otherwise to vote Dem) will inevitably believe them. So I agree that liberal members of the blogosphere ought not to impose this litmus tests on Democrats regarding the Iran issue (if that is what they really are doing in the first place seems arguable to me as well); it just poses an unnecessary risk that could hamper the electability of our candidates. There are other approaches that will accomplish the most imperitive goal: to prevent another foolish Bush war.

I think Vlazlo above stated it very well:

...it is not necessary for candidates to foreswear military action against Iran. What IS a requirement for any Democrat to get my vote is an attack on the Bush attempt to trump up a case for war following (just to make it easy to follow) the precise same script that he [Bush] used in Iraq).

Politics is the art of preventing people from taking part in affairs which properly concern them. --Paul Valery

Yet there is no mainstream Democratic candidate who is running as a pacifist or should; and those who refuse to believe that Iran is a threat and bent on asserting its hegemony in the region, which will have serious repercussions to American interests, are misinformed or naïve.

Do you remember that MLK said "violence begets violence."

Taking this a bit further, when America uses the pentagon as a role model,.... you certainly have to worry about "monkey see, monkey do!"

In my eyes, if the US can assert its hegemony in the region ("protect Amercian Interests") they why not Iran? Isn't that democracy?

Anyway, I like Dennis Kucinich and I don't believe that he's naïve. Instead, I think he's brave enough to go "off script" and puts the people's needs in front of the special interests.

I hear this blather from liberal hawks all the time:
Such a litmus test is dangerous...
It is risky for the US to foreclose on the military option...
Foreswearing a military response would tie our hands...

Folks, when has this actually ever happened in history, that the US has foresworn military action, and that such a stance has led to a disaster? What is the likelihood that such a thing could ever happen? Never. Zero.

So this blather is just silly. A warning against something that has never happened, and isn't going to happen, is meaningless.

What has happened, time and again, and is looking more and more likely to happen in the case of Iran, is that *refusal* to foreswear military action leads to saber rattling leads to provocation leads to exaggerated charges leads to limited military strikes leads to undeclared war. "Keeping the military option open" is code for "not being willing to try diplomacy very hard, or to give it time to work."

Isn't a consequence that has actually happened, and is at least somewhat likely to reoccur, more important to warn against than one that hasn't happened and is not likely to happen?

To deal with Iran the U.S. need not go to war. However, sanctions or containment might work only if the U.S. is to gear up a greater effort than George Bush is willing to start. Afterall how many more tax cuts will limit Iran?

If the U.S. is prepared to engage Iran as Flynt Leverett proposed that might work but do people believe the Saudis and the Jordanians will sit idly by for such an agreement? What the U.S. ought to do is what it should have done on 9/12/01 and engage the entire world in economic, anti-terrorist and other efforts led by America. It means less whining about globalism and more honesty about its benefits.

However, to believe Iran is not now a serious threat seems naive at best. If the Democrats as a political matter take going to war off the table before they are even elected it will be a political disaster. Iraq and Bush as not made Americans either pacifists or isolationists. To be not too creative Democrats need to be for a forceful engagment in which military action is never the first choice but is available beyond those who see the globes problems through the prism of American actions regardless of who is president.

Daniel A. Greenbaum

Thank you, Tom. Believe me, I'm the one suffering from the lack of blogging time.

Alas, real life has reared its ugly head, preventing me from stopping by the Cafe. Nothing bad, just overextended, too damn busy, and unfortunately it's blogging time that's getting cut.

Dissent Protects Democracy.

how do Democrats convince that rest of the country that the Party does not stand for defeatism and unilateral surrender and stil cope with the blogsphere?

Yes, and while we're at it, how do we convince the rest of the country that the Party does not stand for opening the prisons and letting all the rapists free? How do we convince the rest of the country that we aren't secretly intending to award medals to pederasts?

Geez, Daniel, you usually do better than this, don't you?

This is almost too ridiculous to comment on. Almost. But I really need to call you on those unnamed elements of the liberal blogosphere who serve as your straw person.

Really, why are we having this conversation? Is this some pitiful attempt to get "the liberal blogosphere" to behave defensively and start yelling "I favor bombing the crap out of Iran."

Too silly for words.

all nations reserve the right to use force of appropriate scale, when it is in their interest

I think you are misusing the language of "rights" here. Did Japan have the right to use force to invade Manchuria? They certainly felt an invasion was in their interest. Did Germany have the right to use force to invade Poland? Czechoslovakia? The Low Countries and France?

You are confusing "power" and "rights". No nation has the "right" to invade another sovereign nation purely to advance its own interest.

Actually, the CIA knew that Iraq had shut down its WMD program. They just don't ordinarily have the freedom to go on TV and defend their collective reputation against the smears of a incompetent primate like Donald Rumsfeld.

Your point is that America has lost its credibility in terms of people who justify war, and therefore we should not take at face value a list of alleged experts who all oppose the war?

I think you didn't really understand the point of the post. Seriously, why would anybody think that damage to the credibility of the warmonger crowd should translate to damage to the credibility of the people opposed to the war? What kind of logic is that?

LOL! Yes, how short-sighted of me. The "credible Iran experts" are from AIPAC, JINSA, CFR and oh, AEI. Read all about the war criminals here

WTF is everyone talking about? Daniel, why does the U.S. have to “deal” with Iran? They threaten America how? They have no nukes, do not support global terrorists (Hizbollah is not al Qaeda), have declared no jihad against America (though they have declared that they will answer any attack) and have not invaded other countries. Israel’s enemies are not automatically ours.

Iran is our enemy only because George Bush has said so. They are part of an Axis of Evil because George Bush says they are. Democrats have acted like chickensh*ts for five years because they are afraid of being called chickensh*ts.

Congressional leaders should make it clear to Mr. Bush that he does not have authorization to engage Iran militarily. It doesn’t matter if an IED was made in Japan, Congress is the only body that can authorize war.

The midterm election was a mandate against Bush’s War of Civilizations or War of the Free World as it's sometimes called (read: War on Muslims). They should start this new chapter by rejecting Bush’s and the Neocon’s definitions, sham intelligence and propaganda campaigns.

Considering that the US was arming Saddam with chemical weapons to use against Iran and the Kurds, and that the US shot down an Iranian civilian airliner inside Iranian airspace and then tried to blame it on the Iranians, I don't think we have a leg to stand on when it comes to accusations of "supporting terrorism". Who was arming and supporting nun-raping, village massacring death squads in Central and Latin America? Iran? Guess again.

ADDENDUM: Berckowitz - if you hae a problem with this post state your case instead of troll rating it on the sly.

Check out this list as well, one presidential candidate is willing to take it off the table:

http://thinkprogress.org/iran-military-option

So lets see now

You say you didn't troll rate me, but you did give me a 1. What's that if not a troll rating - and based on what - because you don't "approve" of my "tone"? WELL YOU CAN GO TAKE A SOAK as far as I am concerned. People are DYING and you come here trying to deny it? LOL! I'll say my part the way I want to say it and you don't have to read it, how's that?

You say that the US provided "dual use" chemicals to Iraq as if we fell off a truck and didn't know what use it was actually being put to (the fact that Iraq was on our list of terrorist states didn't seem to get in the way - we just removed it from that list) Go tell your apologist NONSENSE about "dual use" crap to the Washington Post:

A 1994 investigation by the Senate Banking Committee turned up dozens of biological agents shipped to Iraq during the mid-'80s under license from the Commerce Department, including various strains of anthrax, subsequently identified by the Pentagon as a key component of the Iraqi biological warfare program. The Commerce Department also approved the export of insecticides to Iraq, despite widespread suspicions that they were being used for chemical warfare. The fact that Iraq was using chemical weapons was hardly a secret.

As for the "reparations" paid for the downing of Iran-Air 655, the fact remains that they were paid on an "ex gratia" basis meaning that we never accepted liability and still officially blame the Iranians themselves. NO ONE has been held responsible for the deaths of 290 people, and in fact several of the people involved received commendation medals. Adm Crowe only admitted that the VIncennes was inside Iranian waters AFTER he retired - 4 years after the incident. The Adm. Fogarty's investigation included presenting a map to Congress on which an Iranian island HAD BEEN ERASED. And you say the Navy was honest? Give me a BREAK.

And you want to know about nun-raping death squads who were supported by the US murdering entire villages? Fine - start with the Massacre at El-Mozote

Sheesh - denial is an ugly thing.

Here, read some more about what your lovely, innocent, white-as-the-driven-snow US government has done and lets see you try to deny it:

Analysis of thousands of captured Iraqi secret police documents and declassified U.S. government documents, as well as interviews with scores of Kurdish survivors, senior Iraqi defectors and retired U.S. intelligence officers, show (1) that Iraq carried out the attack on Halabja, and (2) that the United States, fully aware it was Iraq, accused Iran, Iraq's enemy in a fierce war, of being partly responsible for the attack. The State Department instructed its diplomats to say that Iran was partly to blame. The result of this stunning act of sophistry was that the international community failed to muster the will to condemn Iraq strongly for an act as heinous as the terrorist strike on the World Trade Center.

Yes, that's right. The US provided chemical and other weapons and financing and intelligence and political support to Iraq while Saddam was gassing Kurds - and then tried to blame it on Iran.

GO PUT THAT IN YOUR PIPE AND SMOKE IT.

"I need no persuading--it's others that might."

I guess I am one of those others. The only name I recognise on this list of "who's-who of Iran experts" is Noam Chomsky! So I googled a couple of names and found an artist and a Bible scholar -- nope, no Iran experts there,

I'm sure that among the 193 signatories there are many very knowledgable about the current situation in Iran. And, you know, I could have signed that petition myself, I agree with the statement. But I do believe that petitions like this are essentially meaningless.

Hass,

Howard correctly points out that there is no link to the quote you attribute to the International Herald Tribune. Could you remedy that? And short of that, are you quoting an article or an opinion piece and if it's the latter, could you identify the person who wrote the op-ed?

One reason I ask is because last week you attributed an opinion from an op-ed columnist in the Christian Science Monitor to the Christian Science Monitor itself. As we discussed, I didn't think that it was appropriate to do that (and you disagreed) and, based on that discussion, I'm curious about this current citation you make to the International Herald Tribune without further attribution.

Thanks.

P.S. In your reply to Howard above, you refer to the "article" from the International Herald Tribune. Please provide the link to the "article" you cite, so that the readers of your piece can have a genuine understanding what you are basing your arguments on, to wit, either an opinion (informed or otherwise) or a news article.

Thanks again.

I tried posting the link but couldn't go back to edit it and my html skilsl are limited. But Are you people Google impaired?

Here the LINK

But if you're looking for an excuse to "shoot the messenger" and try to discredit the author of the article, note that at the time he was an official with Human Rights Watch. And he's hardly the only person who'se written about this FACT.

And I would appreciate it if you didn't LIE about the CSM situation - I provied the actual link to the full artilce there and cited CSM as the SOURCE not the author, and did not "attribute it to the Christian Science Monitor" as you falsely claim. SO gtet your facts straight before making up nonsense.

I don't give a flying freak if you rate me minus100, but you're doing so based on whether you "approve" of the contents tone and can't hold up on a debate on teh facts.

Supported- controlled- whatever. You're splitting hairs. We armed them, We financed them, We trained them, We provided political cover for them. Call that what you want - WE"RE STILL COMPLICIT AND JUST AS RESPONSIBLE.

So go on and yammer about how the article in the International Herald Tribune is "propaganda" but that's just the flat-earth society speaking.

People who are members of that society DESERVE condescension and anger. YOU"RE PART OF THE PROBLEM.

Incidentally, I find it laughable how you suddenly cite the authority of a convetion when it comes to defining chemical weapons, but you do your best deny that the defintion of GENOCIDE under the relevant convention applies to Israel's treatment of the Palestinians.

Here's a hint or two:

WE GAVE CHEMICALS TO SADDAM THAT WE KNEW FOR AN ABSOLUTE FACT WERE GOING TO BE USED TO GAS PEOPLE TO DEATH.

WE GAVE HIM MONEY.

WE GAVE HIM ARMS.

WE GAVE HIM MONEY TO BUY ARMS.

WE ENCOURAGED OUR FRIENDS TO GIVE HIM MONEY AND ARMS.

WE GAVE HIM INTELLIGENCE - INCLUDING INTELLIGENCE USED TO LAUNCH CHEMICAL ATTACKS.

WE PROVIDED ANTHRAX TO SADDAM - NOT BECAUSE THERE WAS A SUDDEN SHORTAGE OF ANTHRAX IN IRAQ.

WE DID ALL THIS KNOWING FULL WELL WITHOUT THE SLIGHTEST QUESTION ABOUT WHAT SORT OF RULER SADDAM WAS.

IN FACT WE HAD TO REMOVE SADDAM'S IRAQ FROM THE LIST OF TERRORIST NATIONS TO DO ALL THIS.

THEN WE TRIED TO BLAME THE IRANIANS FOR SADDAM'S GASSING OF THE KURDS.

THESE ARE ALL INDISPUTABLE, ABSOLUTE, UNQUALIFIED FACTS

Oh really? LOL!! So the fact that you don't recognize Iran experts means they don't exist .... you being such the expert yourself on Iran studies... and oh wait, you can Google and google can answer everything right?

Have you ever read anything by, say, Nikki Keddie? Do you have the slightest idea who she is? How about Ervand Abrahamian? Mark Gasiorowski? Hamid Dabashi?

If you were an actual student of Iran studies, you'd know these names, and very well. Naturally you may be more familiar with the talking heads that come on TV a lot - like Pollack - who don't actually speak farsi and have never really been to Iran and yet are supposedly "Iran experts" - but these two people on the list alone have more knowledge of Iran in their little pinky than all the talking heads combined.

Why is Noam Chomsky on the who's-who of Iran experts list? I can just see Chomsky giving this issue the consideration it deserves: "Hmmm, I wonder, should the US bomb Iran or not?" I'm sure glad he decided against bombing.

Why do you wish to insult me? My point is that petitions like this are essentially meaningless. I'd rather read a thoughtful outlook from real experts (including those that are on this list) rather than this cattle-car petition approach.

Hass, I am returning to my paying job after this post. The principal problem with your reply in my opinion is that you assume that I'm trying to "shoot" your messenger. I'm not. I think you have cited a cogent and persuasive messenger.

It's your argument style I have a problem with. Name-calling and capital letters aside (getting used to that here), I think it's fair to ask that we all cite our sources appropriately (meaning that people reading what we post should know who or what we are relying on to support our positions).

You insult yourself. I guess the point was too complicated for you to grasp: that there are lots of real Iran experts who do NOT think that use of force should be an option - contrary to what Bauer claims. The petition is signed by Mideast experts not limited to Iran - but among them are many top Iran experts (Iran being part of the Mideast.) Thus, Bauer's claim is demonstrably false. I just can't explain it more clearly.

Now, by all means feel free to read their books. No one said you shouldn't.

As for Chomsky - he has written extensively about the mideast. Feel free to doubt his qualifications, but there just isn't any question that there are lots of well-known experts on Iran and the mideast on this list.

Apparently, your reading skills are right up there with your numeric skills. With the latter, you were apparently unable to tell the difference between a 0 and 1 rating. You claim:

I don't give a flying freak if you rate me minus100,

but you're doing so based on whether you "approve" of the contents tone

Incidentally, I find it laughable how you suddenly cite the authority of a convetion when it comes to defining chemical weapons, but you do your best deny that the defintion of GENOCIDE under the relevant convention applies to Israel's treatment of the Palestinians.

Supported- controlled- whatever. You're splitting hairs

*equal opportunity offense to both extremes*

Dudes,
I love you both. Let's call it off, eh? It is distracting us from dealing with Mr. Baer, on which I think the two of you are in 97% agreement.

sPh

hass,
My cattle-farming cousin explained to me when this came up during the First Iraq War exactly how anyone anywhere in the world could order as much anthrax culture as they wanted. Since 9/11 and the anthrax attacks this is no longer possible, but it was not hard in those days. Any veterinarian in Iraq could have place an order with the University of Iowa at that time.

In any case, my previous comment stands: I would ask you two to stop, or at least take it outside.

sPh

No, I don't care what your cattle farming uncle says. you don't get to make an assertion that demand that no one reply to it. Iraq could NOT order anthrax. Iraq was on the list of terrorist nations which prevented that. Iraq was removed from the list in 1982 by the Reagan administration in order to remove legal impediments to shipping dual use items that we knew perfectly well were going to weapons production.

Not only was the US providing anthrax to known Iraqi weapons fronts, the British were training them to weaponize it.

The Observer News Page Iraqis given anthrax secrets by Porton Down scientists SHYAM BHATIA

01/25/1998
The Observer
Page 003
(Copyright 1998)

THE FATHER of Iraq 's biological warfare programme benefited from a three-day anthrax workshop hosted by scientists from the Government's chemical and biological research centre at Porton Down , Wiltshire.

The embarrassing British link to Iraq 's deadly anthrax research, revealed by United Nations sources, comes only days after Foreign Secretary Robin Cook's assertion that Saddam Hussein makes enough anthrax every week to fill two missile warheads.

The West's role in providing Iraq with anthrax know-how began at a key workshop in Winchester in 1988. Among 80 scientists from around the world were Dr Nasser el-Hindawi and his assistant, Dr Thamer Abdel Rahman, microbiologists working for Iraq 's secret biological weapons programme. The programme's aim was to develop weapons to spread anthrax , gas gangrene, botulism toxin, brucellosis, rabbit foot and tetanus.

Hindawi, who is still active in Iraq , was the academic supervisor of another British

trained Iraqi, Dr Rihab el-Taha, widely known as Dr Death. Taha, trained at the University of East Anglia, was in charge of the Al Hakam biological weapons factory blown up in 1996 by UN inspectors.

Read more about this here

I'm perfectly willing, now that I have reminded Hass of the rating criteria, out of courtesy rather than a requirement, to stop commenting on that. I am concerned, however, about his putting out substantial misinformation, especially about chemical and biological weapons.

While Saddam's missile programs were indeed rocket science, the rules, at the time Iraq bought the beer yeast and anthrax cultures, were not as strict as they are today. Your uncle is quite correct; just yesterday, on the PROmed mailing list of the International Society for Infectious Diseases (with support from the Centers for Disease Control), there was a report on an anthrax outbreak in Australia, for which reference cultures would be needed in public health. Another outbreak was reported, in Peru, on Sunday. Yet another report came from Zimbabwe on February 6.
--
Howard

*equal opportunity offense to both extremes*

Trust me, sPh. I don't think you want either hypertechnical or misinformation. While I recognize 60 Minutes is threatening to take over the authority of Bergey's Manual of Determinative Bacteriology or the Centers for Disease Control, there's a fairly glaring technical error that Hass managed to include even in the paragraphy he copied.

I shall now be silent on CBW in this thread, and rate appropriately those posts that are abusive.
--
Howard

*equal opportunity offense to both extremes*

60 Minutes is interviewing a deputy undersecretary of defense named Dr. Steven Bryen. DOCTOR Byren, who said:

"Dr. BRYEN: I was shocked to see that biological samples would be going to the Iraqi Atomic Energy Commission because in--it was absolutely clear that--that--that the at--Is--Iraqi Atomic Energy Commission was involved in their nuclear weapons programs and God knows what other weapons programs. "

The five is merited because you point out something very significant, and that is that this is not a debate about bombing Iran now.

Frankly, I do not understand the merits of saying never never never with respect to going to war with Iran. I do not understand how that is prudent policy.

That does not mean that war should not be limited to legitimate self-defense situations and I'm sure there's lots to debate in terms of what is legitimate. But turning this debate into whether a bona fide Democratic presidential candidate must, without question, take a military option against Iran off the table strikes me as being off the mark. It's kind of like a union going into a labor negotiations and saying no matter what happens we won't strike.

Following your logic, no American has credibility as long as the visible government says something false. What would you have Americans do, overthrow their government? Perhaps educate other nations that there really are differing opinions, which, in my travels around the world, seems to be understood in democracies from Japan to Sweden.

Apparently, your government never lies. Would you mind sharing its name so we can learn from it?

--
Howard

*equal opportunity offense to both extremes*

Kissing up won't vindicate you. Sorry.

Howard,

I didn’t know it is you. I thought it was an uneducated American fool posting on TPM café. I have read your post and you seem to be very educated though not necessary well-travel. Your last post seems unCOOL and berserk and intimidating.

I don’t think I want to get into argument with you. Anyway, America is telling the whole world what to do and what not to do and it does exactly the opposite quietly and secretly. Some of the CIA agents were so disillusion with the agency that they left and openly discredited the US government. Many countries do not play the role of a world police to enforce law and order and change of regime and so they do not have the problem of integrity like America has.

I like your post and would you like to publish some interesting posts.

Duplicate

Hee!  One of my former professors is on that list!  Of course, he also had a yellow, diamond-shaped sign in his office that read: "tenured trouble maker on board."

Arguably, one example would be in the no-invasion provision of the settlement, with the Soviets, of the Cuban Missile Crisis.

--
Howard

*equal opportunity offense to both extremes*

In the most literal sense, yes. Looking at it in the context that the US has yet to negotiate with the Cubans but presumably would be bound by it, no.

--
Howard

*equal opportunity offense to both extremes*

"I also believe that Iran's attainment of a nuclear capability is something that should be of real concern to this country (whether we have credibility or not with the rest of the world)."

You need to be more precise here and narrow down what you mean by "nuclear capability" as there is some evidence that hardliners object to Iran having any nuclear capability whatsoever.

What Iran has asked for is assurances that we won't pursue regime change.

I don't think you're qualified to opine on what "serious intelligence agencies" believe.

The US intelligence community has concluded that it has inadequate evidence to make a judgment on the issue.

Even the CIA hasn't found evidence of nuclear weapons programs in Iran.

And oh, the bombing occurred in Zahedan, which is the opposite end of the country from the "Arab sector" as you call it. It near the border with Pakistan and Afghanistan, where Iran is fighting drug lords and Taliban remnants. Perhaps you're not so well informed on Iran as you think?

To me, the issue is not attacking Iran in the absence of conditions for self-defense, rather than specifically taking nuclear weapons off the table.

Really as an aside, I tend to find Chomsky so steeped in blame-America, second only to Ramsey Clark, that I discount him when discussing anything except computational linguistics -- where he is an unquestioned authority. In this long a list, however, I don't see him as polluting it.
--
Howard

*equal opportunity offense to both extremes*

there are no weapons to find -- yet, Hass. It's the true intention of the program that's being evaluated. I actually wouldn't blame the mullahs for trying to make a bomb -- it gives them a huge card to play (ala N. Korea) in int'l negotiations.

OK so I'll give you a serious answer. Perhaps Baer is sloppy in his writing, but with careful reading his meaning is obvious. Let me try to restate that meaning.

Baer believes the Democratic candidates "believe that Iran is a threat and bent on asserting its hegemony in the region, which will have serious repercussions to American interests" Baer also believes that the Democratic candidates all agree that "a military strike against Tehran ... would be long, nasty, costly, and unwise." The question is, GIVEN THESE BELIEFS, should we "question this strategic rationale of keeping the military option on the table." Baer is specifically addressing those like Ezra Klein and Publius, whom he links to. hass' list of "experts" is completely irrelevant to Baer's posting.

I am actually very fond of Chomsky. He attended my high school. But you must agree that Barak Obama is not about to call up Chomsky and ask for advice. hass wants to have a different conversation entirely than Baer's post addresses, and I call that hijacking the discussion

Steve Clemons highlights an excellant article by Michael Tomasky that gets to the problem of the group think that informs what passes for domestic foreign policy expertise and how it affects Hillary's positions. Imo, it's a problem for all Dem candidates, but he uses her inability to say she's sorry to make his point:

".... But I'd like to posit a much less-discussed third reason, and it's the most important one, because it tells us far more about how she might actually conduct foreign-policy as president. It has to do with what we know in Washington as the "Foreign-Policy Establishment".

The FPE consists of intellectuals, analysts, and scholars, many of them former government officials, collected at the various think-tanks in Washington DC (and to some extent New York, home base of the Council on Foreign Relations). If you lived here and worked in politics, you would note quickly their ubiquity and influence. They're forever holding panels and issuing papers, and the resident fellows and scholars advise many a candidate on both sides.

And the FPE, you see, is fairly conservative. There's one house, the New America Foundation, that has admirably made itself the center of the foreign-policy opposition in Washington. But outside of New America, the FPE is dominated by conservatives, neo and otherwise in redoubts like the American Enterprise Institute, and centrist Democrats. This last category is typified by Kenneth Pollack, of the nominally liberal Brookings Institution, whose 2002 book, The Threatening Storm, made a case for the Iraq war which many liberals endorsed. In fact, it's fair to say that most of the FPE was pro-war, and even today, many of its prominent members will admit only to botched execution on the administration's part, not to any broader problems with the whole idea from the start.

This is a bunch whose views are well to the right of the Democratic primary electorate. And it is a bunch in whose good graces Hillary Clinton, a cautious and establishment politician at her core, is fervent to stay. And as was once said of love in the movies, so it must be said today that staying in the FPE's good graces means never having to say you're sorry.

And this is where a potential Clinton presidency becomes a concern. If she is elected, she will likely draw most of her foreign-policy brain trust from this world - not from the neoconservative wing, but from the pro-war neoliberal wing; in other words, from a group of people who got Iraq completely wrong. Her secretary of state, for example, might be Richard Holbrooke, who was belligerently pro-war in the beginning. All this points in a certain direction, as to how she'd handle the Middle East, particularly (doubted by Jewish Israel hawks back in 2000, she has taken pains to become one of their darlings), but also for just about every major question the next president will face, including how she'd clean up the Iraq mess.

And this is the main reason she will almost certainly be issuing no apology. It would dispirit and alienate a class of people she's spent six years currying favor with. And if primary voters choose to read into her refusal a sign that she would not, on foreign policy matters, be the kind of president they'd prefer, well, they would be on solid ground."

http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/michael_tomasky/2007/02/sorry_seems_to_be_the_hardest.html

I had to smile at Tomasky's phrase "nominally liberal" and speculate that it could be used to accurately describe many more entities than the Brookings Institute.

Let me make it clear that my response above was specifically addressed to "you" VLaszlo, whose opinions I value and respect, even though we are almost always in disagreement. My response was not to hass, with whom I fear I cannot have a civil conversation.

marcf thanks for your kind words. Let me take advantage of your friendliness and insert a lengthy post from Digby at Hullabaloo discussing head on the issue Baer raises hopefully in a positive way:

......................

Now You're Talking

by digby

Bill Richardson figured out a way to talk about Iran without sounding like he's talking underwater. He's asking people to sign a petition:

I am joining Bill Richardson to send a clear message to the Bush administration that we will not tolerate ill-conceived and unauthorized aggression against Iran. It would be a mistake for the US to take military action in Iran before exhausting all diplomatic avenues. Tough, direct diplomacy backed by strong international alliances can work. This is exactly the strategy that worked in North Korea and it can work in Iran.

I demand this administration start direct diplomacy with Iran immediately and stop the irresponsible aggression.

This administration has stubbornly refused to pursue real, honest diplomacy in Iran and engage our allies around the world to help negotiate a solution. Instead, they are pursuing a strategy of non-negotiation and threats of possible US military action. We are clear and united - we want negotiations now and no unauthorized and unwarranted attacks in Iran.

See how easy it is to not sound like like a Republican asshole? And to think he did it without making a fetish of saying "all options are on the table." Why, someone might even think the man has some experience doing this type of thing.

There are other ways too. Dover Bitch sent me this YouTube of Congressman Sandy Levin yesterday. I think you'll find this part particularly satisfying:

"The debate we are having today is about the future of our nation's policy in Iraq. So my main focus will not be to catalog the litany of the Administration's past grave mistakes and misstatements over the last four years.

"At the same time, as a lesson for the future, it is important to remember that the war in Iraq was the first application of what has become known as the Bush Doctrine. This policy was unveiled by the President in his commencement speech at West Point in June of 2002 and made policy a few months later in the Administration's 2002 National Security Strategy.

"The Administration's doctrine stressed preemptive attack, U.S. military superiority, and U.S. unilateral action. This flawed policy has proven to be disastrous. It has destabilized Iraq and threatens to undermine the stability of the entire region. The doctrine blinded the Administration to the Pandora's Box it was opening when it invaded Iraq in search of weapons of mass destruction that did not exist, and 9-11 terrorists that were not there.

"Far from strengthening U.S. security, this misguided doctrine has put our nation's vital interests at greater risk. The elevation of unilateralism has helped erode our nation's standing in the world

. .....................

I really think if Hillary, Obama, and Edwards reflected this sort of sentiment (which isn't necessarily at odds with the part of Baer's comments that has a kernel of validity), then we wouldn't be having this heated debate today. Like, Digby I do not understand why it is so hard for our leading candidates to formulate their position in a way that makes clear how very much it differs from the reckless, irresponsible and repugnant policies of the Bush idiocies. If they cannot do a better job, then at some point one just wonders if their thinking is in fact more clear-headed than the neocons.

What happens with a couple days away from the computer?  Baer, the problem we have with Iran is that Bush doesn't think he has created enough problems yet. 

Open your f***ing eyes.  We are not all powerful.  Even the Israelis must realize that if all the other major powers decide to isolate us, we are gonna be one mighty weak giant.  We are already despised by the peoples of the world, their governments can only tolerate us for so long before they have to get on board with their populations.

If we act precipitously towards Iran, the world is gonna sympathize with Iran, not with us.  Americans will find out what being ostracized is like.  It won't be pretty.

Meanwhile, the creeps like Bush (or for all I know, you) will just move away. 

S. Arabia has expressed an interest in nuclear power as have pretty much the entire rest of the world simply because nuclear power is the energy source of the future. You're confusing "expressing an interest with nuclear power" with "seeking to acquire nuclear bombs to deter Iran"- naturally.

But assuming that they're interested in nuclear weapons, note that there has long been speculation about the Saudi-Pakistani nuclear ties, and Egypt's nuclear program long predates Iran's and in fact Egypt was caught conducting secret experiment by the IAEA too.

What makes you think that YOUR government is so honest and "responsible"?

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