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Words, Not War
A Statement on Iran
August 2006
As former military leaders and foreign policy officials,
we call on the Bush administration to engage immediately in direct
talks with the government of Iran without preconditions
to help resolve the current crisis in the Middle East and settle
differences over the Iranian nuclear program.
We strongly caution against any consideration of the use
of military force against Iran. The current crises must
be resolved through diplomacy, not military action. An attack on
Iran would have disastrous consequences for security in the region
and U.S. forces in Iraq, and it would inflame hatred and violence
in the Middle East and among Muslims elsewhere.
A strategy of diplomatic engagement with Iran will serve
the interests of the U.S. and its allies, and would enhance
regional and international security.
Signed:
Ambassador Harry Barnes, Former Ambassador to Chile,
India, and Romania
Lieutenant General Julius Becton, U.S. Army (Ret.);
Former commander, VII
Corps, and Director, Federal Emergency Management Agency
Parker Borg, Senior Fellow at the Center for International
Policy; Former Ambassador to Iceland and Mali; Deputy Assistant
Secretary of State for International Narcotic Matters; Deputy Director
of the Office for Combating Terrorism, U. S. State Department
Ambassador Peter Burleigh, Former U.S. Ambassador
and Deputy Permanent Representative of the United States to the
United Nations; Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives; Ambassador
and Coordinator of the Office of Counter-Terrorism; Deputy Assistant
Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research; and Deputy Assistant
Secretary of State for the Near East and South Asia
Ambassador Ralph Earle II, Former chief negotiator
of the SALT II Treaty and Director of the United States Arms Control
and Disarmament Agency
Brigadier General Evelyn P. Foote, U.S. Army (Ret.).
Former Deputy Inspector General, U.S. Army
Ambassador Chas W. Freeman, Jr., Former Ambassador
to Saudi Arabia; Assistant Secretary of Defense, International Security
Affairs; Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, African
Affairs, Charge/Deputy Chief of Mission, American Embassy (Bangkok;
Beijing); and Director, Chinese Affairs, Department of State
Morton Halperin, Senior Fellow of the Center for
American Progress; Director of U.S. Advocacy for the Open Society
Institute; Former director of Policy Planning, Department of State
Lieutenant General Robert G. Gard, Jr., U.S. Army
(Ret.); Former military assistant to the Secretary of Defense; president,
National Defense University. Currently Senior Military Fellow, Center
for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation
General Joseph P. Hoar, U.S. Marine Corps (Ret.);
Former Commander in Chief, U.S. Central Command
Brigadier General John Johns, U.S. Army (Ret.);
Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense
Professor Frank N. von Hippel, Former Assistant
Director for National Security in the White House Office of Science
and Technology Policy
Dr. Lawrence Korb, Former Assistant Secretary of
Defense for Manpower, Installations and Logistics
Major General Frederick H. Lawson, U.S. Army Reserve
(Ret.); Former Reserve Division Commander
Lieutenant General Claudia Kennedy, U.S. Army (Ret.);
former Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence
Lieutenant General Charles P. Otstott, U.S. Army
(Ret.); former Deputy Chairman, NATO Military Committee
Ambassador Edward L. Peck, Former Chief of Mission
in Iraq and Mauritania; Deputy Director of the White House Task
Force on Terrorism; Deputy Coordinator for Covert Intelligence Programs
and Special Assistant to the Under Secretary for Political Affairs,
Department of State; Liaison Officer to the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Brig. Gen. Maurice D. Roush, U.S. Army (Ret.)
Dr. Sarah Sewall, Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of
Defense for Peacekeeping and Humanitarian Assistance; Foreign Policy
Adviser to Senator George J. Mitchell
Vice Admiral Jack Shanahan, U.S. Navy (Ret.). Former
Director of the Center for Defense Information and currently Chairman,
Military Advisory Committee, Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities
LTG James M. Thompson, U.S. Army (Ret.). Former Chief of
Military Mission to Turkey (JUSMMAT); Chief of Staff, Allied Forces,
Southern Europe
Vice Admiral Ralph Weymouth, U.S. Navy (Ret.).
Former Commanding Officer of Flagship on Commander Middle East Force;
Northern NATO Desk Officer in the Office of the Assistant Secretary
of Defense for Internal Security Affairs; and Commander, Iceland
Defense Force
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