FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday, January 3, 2020
Contact: Patrick Hiller; patrick@jubitz.org
War Prevention Initiative: “Congress, people-power, and global leaders need to help prevent war with Iran”
PORTLAND, OR – The January 3, 2020 assassination of Qasem Soleimani, a top Iranian general, and nine other people with him greatly increases the likelihood of catastrophic war between the United States and Iran. The current trajectory toward a US war of choice is dangerous. The consequences would be disastrous in terms of casualties on all sides, further destabilization of the Middle East, the increased risk of nuclear proliferation and war, and the waste of trillions of dollars. Diplomatic solutions should be pursued at all costs. Long-term, often messy diplomacy—even if it comes with setbacks—is always preferable to war, which in this case would be unwinnable and catastrophic.
Congress, the American public, and global leaders must insist on immediate de-escalatory moves to the crisis caused by this assassination. Patrick Hiller, Executive Director of the War Prevention Initiative, released the following comments:
“Since President’s Trump’s announcement to withdraw from the so-called Iran Nuclear Deal we and other peace advocacy organizations and networks have called for diplomacy over war. The War Prevention Initiative urges Congress to fully exercise its authority to stop the reckless actions by the Trump administration. We also support public mobilizations nationwide that show that the American people do not want another catastrophic war. We urge international leaders to address the crisis with urgency and create pathways for diplomatic steps that de-escalate the current situation.
War with Iran is unnecessary, wrong, immoral, and cannot be won. War with Iran cannot be contained and increases the risk of nuclear conflict. It is time to look beyond the inhumane war rhetoric. We must start looking at Iran as a country with 80 million people who are not our enemies, instead of an entity reduced to “bad guys” who need to be “eliminated”. If war starts, civilians will bear the brunt of it and we must do everything in our power and in our respective spheres of influence to prevent that from happening.”
The War Prevention Initiative informs and educates about viable alternatives to war and violence.
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For further comment or questions, please contact Patrick Hiller, Ph.D., War Prevention Initiative’s Executive Director at patrick@jubitz.org
