Dr. Don Richardson's June 23rd OpEd

Don’s OpEd - Given the reckless history of the Bush administration, it is not hard to believe that an attack against Iran is imminent, especially since President Bush and Vice President Cheney now have less than 240 days to finish their term.  The Jerusalem Post quoted a senior member of the president’s entourage after Bush addressed the Knesset, indicating that Bush & Cheney were of the opinion that military action was called for. This sounds like a self-fulfilling prophesy following the drumbeat of recent threats without substance that got us into Iraq in 2003.
    The November 2007 National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) concluding that Iran had halted its nuclear weapons program was rejected by this administration, apparently because it interfered with war plans already in the works. Instead, we got unsubstantiated claims that Iran is a major threat to stability in the Middle East, while the rest of the world understands that it is the U.S. which continues to destabilize the region. When you’ve got lung cancer, your doctor does not prescribe increasing your smoking.
    Closer to conflict - The threat of more military action and further sanctions can only move us closer to conflict, which is apparently what the Bush administration wants. The bipartisan Iraq Study Group recommended direct talks. Bush has set preconditions which effectively scuttled any hope of negotiations, namely that Iran cease enriching uranium, even as he hypocritically promised to give enriched uranium to Saudi Arabia, and is building a new generation of nuclear bombs at home, in violation of many treaties aimed at ridding the world of these monstrous weapons.
    Bombing  Iran would have enormous human and environmental costs, probably trigger revenge attacks against  U.S. interests everywhere, from Iraq to the continental  U.S., and be yet another public relations disaster for America, already suffering loss of prestige from 7 yrs of theo-fascist rule by the present administration. Oil prices would go even higher, if that’s possible.  Unconditional negotiations with Iran are the only rational course.  Iran appears willing to open its allegedly peaceful nuclear program to inspection. We should ... end sanctions, pledge not to interfere in its government and help  Iran integrate into the world economy.
    Wars don’t work - We are in the 21st century: war is no longer an acceptable instrument of foreign policy, given its huge human and environmental costs, not to mention the waste of trillions of $’s desperately needed for real problems like runaway population & global warming.
    It is time that a timid Congress gather the courage to support the Constitution and step in to stop yet another mindless war for global domination. Citizens in our congressional district must contact Rep. Heath Shuler and demand that Bush and Cheney initiate unconditional talks with Iran to stop the insanity and put us on a path to peace. How many more deaths will we tolerate in order to drive our SUVs and further exacerbate climate catastrophes?
Don Richardson, M.D., is a member of Physicians For Social Responsibility. He lives in Brevard