TARIQ ALI: "At present, Iran has little more than primitive gropings towards the technology needed for nuclear self-defence. Yet these are being presented as a casus belli by Bush, Blair, Chirac and Olmert, whose own states are armed with hundreds—in the American case, thousands—of nuclear weapons. Whining and cavilling over the small print of Vienna protocols, however warranted, is a futile pursuit for Iranian diplomacy. The country would do better to choose the right moment and simply withdraw from the Non-Proliferation Treaty. Of all the anachronistic emperors in the world, it is the most brazenly naked. There is not a shred of justification for the oligopoly of the present nuclear powers, so hypocritical it does not dare even speak its name—Israel, with 200 nuclear bombs, is never mentioned. There will never be nuclear disarmament until it is broken.." Read full article

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Dear ...

In recent months there have been increasing rumours of military action and preparations for military action, against Iran.

I am writing to convey my extreme concern over this possibility, and that the Australian government may be drawn into this.

Australia should in no way support or encourage any use or any threat of use of any military option with respect to Iran and must visibly do its utmost to discourage our great and powerful ally from any such course of action.

Limited, so called 'surgical' military strikes against Iran can be gauranteed to produce exactly the opposite result to that desired.

So - called 'surgical' strikes will transform a nuclear program that is ambiguous into an unambiguously military program designed to obtain nuclear weapons at any cost, and will accellerate rather than prevent, Iran developing nuclear weapons. Even talk of military action inevitably pushes the Iranian government toward the nuclear weapons option that we say we do not want them to take.

An invasion of Iran will be a catastrophe. Occupation and pacification of Iran will prove impossible and lead to never-ending war in which there cannot be a victory. Even an attempt to occupy Iran's oil-rich western province will only be successful in provoking an all out war against the occupying forces.

There are even reports in some quarters that the use of nuclear weapons may be contemplated. These rumours/threats must be stopped immediately, and Australia must be visible in calling for them to stop. Australia must make it clear that this possibility, however remote, is absolutely unacceptable and would place the US outside the community of civilised countries.

The Australian government must do all that is in its power to press this message as strongly as possible. Australia should lobby both its ally the USA and the Security Council itself to ensure that military options and talk and planning for military options are entirely excluded.

Signed....

Yours sincerely,

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