An Alert to our Compatriots from Iranian Scholars Living Outside Iran: Iran is on the brink of danger
March 8, 2007
In the immediate aftermath of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, and alarmed by the overthrow of Saddam Hussein’s regime, high-ranking officials of the Islamic Republic offered to negotiate with the Bush administration, recognize Israel, and stop funding Islamic militants in Palestine and Lebanon. More recently, however, the ruling elite has been provoking the United States under the false perception that the U.S. is unable to launch an attack on Iran. Let us recall that Saddam Hussein in his day, like Mr. Ahmadinejad today, similarly harboured the illusion that the U.S. would not attack his country. This misperception of America’s intention led to the invasion of Iraq, the collapse of the state, and the deaths of Saddam Hussein and his colleagues. More tragically, countless Iraqis have been killed and the country virtually destroyed. Faced with American warmongering, would it not have been to the Iraqi government’s advantage to resolve its disputes with the United States through negotiation? Are Mr. Ahmadinejad and his associates not willing to learn from the catastrophic fate of Iraq and the grim fate of Saddam? Do they wish to plunge Iran into destruction?
Extremists in the U.S. and Israeli governments are seeking an opportunity to launch a war against Iran because they believe that Iran is defying the United States in its War on Terror and is aiding the Iraqi insurgents. In turn, the reckless policies and rhetoric of Mr. Ahmadinejad and his associates are providing the U.S. and Israel with the pretext needed to drag Iran into war and catastrophe. There is a very real possibility that the Islamic Republic, like Saddam’s regime, can be overthrown, if it continues to gamble its way to war. Mr. Ahmadinejad wrongly believes that the United States – with a military force of some two million, a vast nuclear arsenal, a navy, and an extremely powerful air force – has lost its military capacity after 3,000 casualties in Iraq and thus cannot afford to attack Iran. In fact, the opposite is true. The warmongers of the Bush administration have decided to expand their war to Iran to cover up their defeat in Iraq. Everything points to the seriousness of the plans to launch a military attack on Iran. We are alarmed by the prospect of war and we know that most of our compatriots are too. We appeal to government officials, theologians, policy-makers, elites, and to all the people of Iran and declare that the policies of the Ahmadinejad government will bring the American warmongers to Iran. Such a war could expand to the rest of the region, with tragic consequences. The war could lead to the deployment of nuclear weapons, rendering parts of Iran uninhabitable for generations, and could compromise the territorial integrity of Iran. We warn the Ahmadinejad government to prevent such an outcome.
We expatriate Iranian academics who see the signs of a military attack on Iran demand that Iran’s political leadership assume its responsibility for the welfare of the Iranian people, take heed of the danger of a military assault, cease its adventurous policies, and prevent Iran from plunging into the flames of war. The government cannot be permitted to endanger the Iranian people because of its miscalculations and illusory ideals. We have no doubt that the acquisition of nuclear energy is the right of the Iranian people. However, it should be acquired in an appropriate and measured fashion. The only principled way to acquire such a goal is through negotiations and winning the trust of the world community, and not through subterfuge and adventurism.
We academics and scholars advise all our compatriots, including those concerned elites, not to remain silent in the face of the irresponsible policies of the authorities, and to compel them to: - Accept the UN resolution 1737 issued on 23 December, 2006, and return to the negotiating table;- Pursue the right to acquire nuclear energy in a transparent and consultative manner, recognizing the people’s will, seeking popular participation, permitting open debate, and consulting with experts and activists – all carried out without any intimidation but rather in the spirit of achieving peace and security.
The first step is to accept the UN resolution and to immediately halt uranium enrichment, in order to win the trust of the international community. Our country is not in need of enriched uranium, as Russia has already guaranteed the necessary supply for Iran’s sole nuclear reactor in Bushehr for the next ten years. We are confident that if these steps are followed, the peace-loving people of Iran and the United States can prevent the outbreak of a disastrous war. We are fortunate to be witnessing anti-war activism by many Americans. Concerned citizens, groups, and peace-loving parties have learnt from the bitter lesson of the occupation of Iraq, and they have mobilized against escalation and a military assault on Iran. The anti-war movements in the U.S., Britain, and other countries are pressing their respective governments to prevent the expansion of the Iraq war into Iran and elsewhere in the Middle East.
As Iranians committed to peace, democracy, and freedom, we deem it our duty to urge the Iranian government to cease its provocative policies and rhetoric and do all it can to prevent a disaster from befalling Iran and the region.
Signatories:
Abrahamian, Ervand, City University of New York
Afari, Janet, Purdue University
Alamdari, Kazem,California State University, Los Angels
Amirahmadi, Hooshang, Rutgers University
Bayat, Asef, Leiden University, The Netherlands
Behrooz, Maziar, California State University, San Francisco
Behroozi, Cyrus, India University, Purdue
Borghei, Mohmmad, Strayer University
Boroujerdi, Mehrdad, Syracuse University
Darwishpour, Mehrdad, Stockholm University
Daryaee, Touraj, California State University, Fullerton
Entessar, Nader, University of South Alabama
Farhang, Mansour, Bennington College
Ganjbakhash, Amirhossein, American National Institute Haghighatjoo,
Fatemeh, Harvard University
Hashemi, Nader, Northwestern University
Hassanpour, Binesh, University of Toronto, Canada
Hejazifar, Esmaeil, Wilmington College
Jahanshahi, Farshid, Oklahoma State University
Kamalipour,Yahya, Purdue University
Kangarlu, Alayar, Columbia University
Karimi-Hakkak, Ahmad, University of Maryland
Kholdi, Shahram, University of Manchester
Mafi, Sheerin, Otterbein University
Mahdi, Ali Akbar, Ohio Wesleyan University
Mashayekhi, Mehrdad, Georgetown University
Mirsepassi, Ali, New York University
Moghaddam, Abdolreza, University of Toronto, Canada
Moghadam, Valentine M. Purdue University
Mohammadi, Monireh, York University, Toronto, Canada
Monshipouri, Mahmood, Quinnipiac University
Navab, Mohamad, University of California, Los Angeles
Parsa, Misagh, Dartmouth College
Rahmandad, Hazhir, Polytechnic Virginia University
Sarhangi, Reza, Navison University
Shahpari, Hassan, Villanova University
Talattof, Kamran, University of Arizona
Tavakolian, Bahram, Denison University
Tohidi, Nayereh, California State University, Northridge
Zahedi, Dariush, University of California at Berkeley
Zanganeh, Hamid, Widener University
Reference: http://www.payvand.com/news/07/mar/1112.html
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