Former National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski makes a strong case against the Air strikes against Iran rumored to be on the Bush administration's planning board. Think Progress reports
Brzezinski: Air Strike on Iran Could `Merit the Impeachment of the President'
In an op-ed titled "Do Not Attack Iran," former National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski today makes the case against launching an air strike on Iranian nuclear facilities. First on his list:
In the absence of an imminent threat (with the Iranians at least several years away from having a nuclear arsenal), the attack would be a unilateral act of war. If undertaken without formal Congressional declaration, it would be unconstitutional and merit the impeachment of the President.
Thank goodness we are getting serious foreign policy experts analyzing this crisis by professional standards. Brzezinski wonders if the Bush saber rattling campaign is a deliberate strategy to push Iran away from potentially diplomatically negotiated solutions.
Most strikingly, Brzezinski wonders whether the Bush administration's current strategy is actually designed to "deliberately encourage[e] greater Iranian intransigence" and undercut chances of reaching a diplomatic solution:
How else to explain the current U.S. "negotiating" stance: the United States is refusing to participate in the on-going negotiations with Iran but insists on dealing only through proxies. That stands in sharp contrast with the simultaneous negotiations with North Korea, in which the United States is actively engaged.
At the same time, the United States is allocating funds for the destabilization of the Iranian regime and is reportedly injecting Special Forces teams into Iran to stir up non-Iranian ethnic minorities in order to fragment the Iranian state (in the name of democratization!).
Brzezinski joins a long list of experts advising against a military strike in Iran
Brzezinski is the latest in a long line of national security experts and others advising against a military strike in Iran. (Read our full list HERE.) But Brzezinski also makes a strong proactive case on Iran, calling for the Bush administration to "sober up, to think strategically, with a historic perspective and with America's national interest primarily in mind." Read his full op-ed.
No Immediate Threat: Iran 5-10 Years Away From Weapon
HoundDog has reported experts report that Iran is at least 5-10 years away from developing a nuclear weapons capability from internal sources.
Dispelling The False Urgency Of Rush To War In Iran: A Peaceful Alternative Process?
Experts Say Iran Years Away From Nuclear Bomb. Perhaps 2020. What's The Rush To War?
All peace loving people need to take the potential growing threat from Iran's nuclear weapons ambition seriously and find ways to counter it. However, we should do so within the framework of international law and the UN Charter.
Preemptive War Not Recognized International Standard
International law does not recognize the radical Bush doctrine of unilateral preemptive war.
And, the United States, has much to lose by trying to change international standards to legitimize this dangerous philosophy.
Just War Theory recognizes legitimate warfare only to prevent a imminent threat that is not avoidable by any other means. And requires that all other remedies have been exhausted.
I am not an expert in international law and ask that someone who is help me out. But my impression is that the UN Charter of 1945 requires that such a case be made to the National Security Council prior to any declaration of war in order for it to be considered legitimate.
President Bush already violated this standard in the case of the 2003 Iraq War. Which I already consider to be grounds for impeachment. But I'm just a progressive citizen volunteer blogger.
Former National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski has world class credibility. I thank him for drawing this line in the sand in advance of Bush's next war crime.
Please Rally To Prevent An Unneeded War
And I request that other credible dignitaries of foreign policy law and diplomacy stand up and support our fragile but worthwhile system of international order and rule of law.
And the rest of us should listen and help to spread this message and raise awareness.
If we've learned nothing else from the tragic and wrong war in Iraq it is that such terrible disasters are a lot easier to prevent in the first place than get out of once started.
Peace is worth working for in advance.