Move America off a permanent war footing? Sounds great! Start with nukes!

 In Iran, Nuclear Weapons

In last night’s State of the Union address, President Barack Obama declared, “America must move off a permanent war footing.” Peace Action couldn’t agree more, but that permanent war footing is a many- headed hydra that won’t be transformed into a dove quickly or easily. So let’s get started right now!

The president is to be commended for working to address concerns over Iran’s nuclear program through multi-lateral negotiations. Your actions the last few weeks have been very effective in forestalling congressional attempts to impose new economic sanctions on Iran, which could torpedo diplomacy and make the unthinkable, another Middle East war, more likely. So thank you!

However, the president and his administration have been mostly AWOL in the growing international movement, in multi-lateral forums, for greater progress toward a nuclear weapons-free world. (Remember, the U.S. and eight other countries currently have nuclear weapons. Iran does not.)

The U.S. skipped an important conference in Norway last year on the humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons, and has not committed to attending a follow-up conference in Mexico in just a few weeks. Please email the president and let him know you want not just U.S. participation, but leadership, in this international effort for global nuclear disarmament.

Whether or not the U.S. sends an official delegation, Peace Action will be there! The Executive Director of Peace Action of New York State, Alicia Godsberg, will be attending both the governmental conference as an observer, and the international non-governmental organization (NGO) sessions convened by our colleagues at ICAN, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons.

Last night the president also said, “If John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan could negotiate with the Soviet Union, then surely a strong and confident America can negotiate with less powerful adversaries today.” While he spoke of Iran, that notion should apply to any number of foreign policy challenges, and certainly to nuclear arms reduction agreements (which is what Kennedy and Reagan negotiated). So tell the president we need U.S. representation at the Mexico conference.

Peacefully and Diplomatically Yours,

 

Kevin Martin
Executive Director
Peace Action

P.S. This alert, and many in the weeks to come, are a part of our advocacy of “A Foreign Policy for All,” offering a new, more peaceful, positive and pro-active direction for U.S. foreign and military policy. Stay tuned for more on this in the weeks ahead.

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