RE: Iran + Elliott Abrams - what could go wrong?

 

Late yesterday, the United Nations Security Council rejected Trump’s proposal to extend an arms embargo on Iran. What Trump does next could return us to the brink of war.

These actions are exactly why we're not taking our eyes off the Trump administration’s actions on Iran for ONE second — and why we need stay vigilant.

During Netroots Nation this week, Congressman Ro Khanna affirmed that Win Without War's work, particularly our ability to pivot and quickly mobilize thousands of activists like you makes ALL the difference: "With Yemen and Iran grassroots activists changed the conversations — and the result."

If it's in your budget, please help us keep up the pressure!

— Shayna

_______________

They say personnel is policy, and when it comes to Iran, Trump’s latest choices are terrifying.

Trump just appointed Elliott Abrams — convicted of misleading Congress about the Iran-Contra affair and currently leading the charge for regime change in Venezuela — as his special representative for Iran.

The U.S. relationship with Iran might be out of the headlines, but things are still on a hair trigger. Huge, mysterious explosions have occurred at Iranian nuclear facilities. Two weeks ago, Iran conducted military exercises so intense they put the United States on high alert. And as I write, the Administration is maneuvering at the United Nations to further undermine the successful Iran deal — heightening tensions and making future diplomacy even harder.

Best case, these actions confirm just how much we’re up against. Worst case? Trump is laying the groundwork for a “wag the dog” confrontation ahead of the election.

While so many other issues lead the news, we know it’d be a mistake to take our eye off the Trump administration’s actions on Iran — and that’s why we’ve made an important operational decision.

Win Without War’s team is staying at full capacity through tough times because we are uniquely and powerfully positioned to analyze every breaking development and each proposed policy change that might put us on the path to war. We remain at the ready, prepared to mobilize our grassroots supporters and rally our allies in Congress at a moment's notice.

But all this work has budget implications. Our largest single source of funding is individual donors, including hundreds of activists who make an average sustaining donation of $9.35 each month. If it’s in your budget, please join them right now:

We haven’t forgotten how close to war we came in January after General Qassem Suleimani’s assassination, but Trump’s moves prove we haven’t walked back from the threat of war.

Worse, Trump has shown he is at his *most* dangerous and impulsive when he’s politically pinned down. His recklessness has repercussions that last lifetimes — and cost lives. With his failed leadership on the coronavirus under sustained critique, a catastrophic foreign policy decision feels imminent.

And Elliott Abrams is someone who knows a thing or two about those. He was convicted of lying to Congress about Iran-Contra. He enabled and downplayed horrific human rights abuses — death squads in El Salvador and the genocidal slaughter of over 200,000 Indigenous Guatemalans. And of course he was a champion of the Iraq War.

For Abrams, this’ll be nearly 40 years of failing up — now taking direct control over Iran- AND Venezuela-related policy, two countries where U.S. sanctions are playing a devastating role and where our relationships hang by a thread.

The U.S. relationship with Iran is far from simple. There are decades of mistrust, bad-faith actions, and aggression. And caught in the middle are the lives of Iranian families, as well as U.S. servicemembers. But we KNOW diplomacy, NOT war, is what will ultimately bring both sides together.

We have to do everything we can to stop things devolving so dangerously, so we can — and I know this seems far off — get back to the negotiating table. It’s a long term vision, but we’re in this for the long-term, and we need your support. So I'll ask one more time:

I was just a kid when congressional hearings on Iran-Contra were happening. The fact that Elliott Abrams is STILL hanging around, DECADES later and his bad acts continue to be rewarded? It makes me furious.

But we don’t back down from fights like this, even with the odds stacked against us — and it’s why we will win.

Luckily, I know you’re with us. With every dollar you give, call you make, letter you send, and signature you add to a petition, you are showing your commitment to a progressive foreign policy — and building a safer and more just world.

Thank you for working for peace,

Stephen, Abbey, Shayna, and the Win Without War team

Win Without War Education Fund 2020
1 Thomas Circle NW, Suite 700, Washington, DC 20005
(202) 656-4999 | info@winwithoutwar.org