Will Edwards Rule Out Attack on Iran?

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday February 13, 2007 · 9:09 AM PST

2007/02/13 · 09:09

One of the top three Democratic contenders for the presidency, Senator John Edwards, has recently taken honorable stands against escalation in Iraq and in favor of gradually withdrawing troops. While in the Senate, he had voted to authorize war with Iraq, but in late 2005, he courageously admitted publicly that his vote was a mistake.

However, in a recent speech delivered in Israel, Senator Edwards seemed to support threatening Iran militarily, saying "To ensure that Iran never gets nuclear weapons, we need to keep ALL options on the table. Let me reiterate -ALL options must remain on the table [original emphasis]."

An attack - indeed even threatening to attack - would be a violation of international law, specifically the UN Charter.

McPatrick

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday November 08, 2006 · 2:44 PM PST

2006/11/08 · 14:44

The war was a central issue to this election, and we need to work to be sure that is remembered. At JustForeignPolicy.org, we would like to record anti-war victories, including both anti-war (or troops-out-now or set-a-deadline) candidates who beat pro-war (or no-deadline) candidates as well as successful ballot initiatives. Please take the time to post a comment noting about those you are aware of.

Here's some examples: Read More

Justifying War with Iran: False Strategy on Nuclear Nonproliferation

McPatrick

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Friday October 20, 2006 · 2:14 PM PDT

2006/10/20 · 14:14

Six nations have been most frequently mentioned in discussions of nuclear non-proliferation in recent years. Four are known to have nuclear weapons and do not allow U.N. inspections of active nuclear weapon sites. Israel's nuclear stockpile is an open secret. India and Pakistan both have nuclear weapons; they conducted highly publicized nuclear tests in 1998, creating a very tense moment between the rivals. This month, North Korea tested a nuclear device.

Another frequently mentioned country, Iran, does not now have nuclear weapons. It actually signed the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT), the international legal foundation of nonproliferation. Iran allows U.N. inspections of its nuclear facilities, which it claims will be used solely for civilian power plants - legal under the NPT - and never to create a weapon. No proof has ever been offered that Iran is taking steps to produce a nuclear weapon. Read More

Baker's Study Group is Good News for Iraq, But Could Be Bad News for Iran

McPatrick

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday October 18, 2006 · 8:11 AM PDT

2006/10/18 · 08:11

From Robert Naiman of Just Foreign Policy:

First, the good news. The expected recommendations of James Baker's "Iraq Study Group" are partial victories for the people of Iraq and for the anti-war movement in the United States. Read More

Correct Facts about Bush-Chavez Relations: Remember the Attempted Coup?

McPatrick

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Friday October 13, 2006 · 9:18 AM PDT

2006/10/13 · 09:18

From Mark Weisbrot:

One of the nice things about a blog is that you can provide a few details that don't fit in columns or op-eds that the mainstream press runs. Below is a column I wrote that ran during the past week in a number of US newspapers. It provides some background, missing from almost all press coverage, about why President Hugo Chavez might see George W. Bush as "the Devil:" namely, the Bush administration's involvement in the 2002 military coup that briefly overthrew Venezuela's democratic government, and the administration's continued intervention inside Venezuela, to this day.

McPatrick

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Friday October 06, 2006 · 11:11 AM PDT

2006/10/06 · 11:11

I know that online petitions aren't going to prevent a war with Iran by themselves. But they do accomplish several things. They show the signatories that they are not isolated. If folks sign up for future action alerts, it helps to organize activists around emerging issues. And collecting big numbers of signatures is important (imagine what it would say about opposition to war if we failed to register large numbers on petitions).

That said, there is a new petition against attacking Iran militarily here: http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/... Read More

Torpedo-ing Alternatives to War: Violence, Not Negotiation, Says House

McPatrick

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Friday September 29, 2006 · 8:47 AM PDT

2006/09/29 · 08:47

Congress is really on a roll this week. For them, it was not enough to strip detainees of all right to challenge their detention in a court of law, undermining a legal tradition stretching back to the Magna Carta. It was not enough to weaken U.S. obligations under the Geneva Conventions, allowing the President to authorize what looks an awful lot like torture. No, now they want to make sure that no diplomacy stands in the way of an unnecessary and disastrous war with Iran. They are doing their best to torpedo negotiations that are showing signs of success. Read More

Indefinite Detention and Torture: a Political and Moral Mistake

McPatrick

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Wednesday September 27, 2006 · 12:32 PM PDT

2006/09/27 · 12:32

The legislation pushed by the Bush administration on detainees and war crimes that has inspired outrage is moving rapidly forward in Congress. After several rebellions by prominent Republicans concerned about public opinion domestically and abroad, the elected politicians are caving in on most provisions of the bill. Democrats and Republicans alike fear the shameless attack ads that might appear in their districts over the next few weeks if they voted against this so-called "national security" bill. (Those ads would fail to mention the bill's dangerous and morally repugnant provisions.) Read More

RSS

Will Edwards Rule Out Attack on Iran?

Open Thread: Anti-War Election Results

Justifying War with Iran: False Strategy on Nuclear Nonproliferation

Baker's Study Group is Good News for Iraq, But Could Be Bad News for Iran

Correct Facts about Bush-Chavez Relations: Remember the Attempted Coup?

Sign new petition against war with Iran

Torpedo-ing Alternatives to War: Violence, Not Negotiation, Says House

Indefinite Detention and Torture: a Political and Moral Mistake