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APN urges President Obama not to give in to election year pressure to go to war against Iran

Dear President Obama,

With the 2012 election season in high gear, we know that you are under increasing pressure to launch a war against Iran. We are writing to tell you that Americans for Peace Now (APN) - a proud American, Jewish organization whose mission includes supporting Israel and Israel's security - believes that such a decision is too important to be turned into election season political football. We urge you to remain committed to the responsible course of diplomacy, backed by sanctions, that is the centerpiece of your current policy.

Yes, we are concerned at the prospect of Iran acquiring nuclear weapons. An Iran armed with nuclear weapons represents an alarming scenario that neither the U.S. nor Israel, nor for that matter, the world, can afford to dismiss.

Right now, however, we are equally concerned about the growing frenzy of reckless talk about military action. We are also outraged and appalled by those who are trying to transform a decision about war - with all of its national security implications - into some sort of litmus test of your administration's pro-Israel credentials. We applaud your Administration's demonstrated and irrefutable commitment to Israel's security and commend the deep sense of responsibility that your administration has shown in taking Israeli needs and concerns into account in formulating American policy on Iran. We also know that a precipitous and ill-considered decision to go to war with Iran is in no way synonymous with "pro-Israel."

We urge you not to give in to those who, for reasons of ideology, partisan gain or political expediency, are now agitating for war. For years, Israeli and U.S. experts - people with direct experience in intelligence, defense, and national security decision-making - have made clear that military action against Iran will only delay, not stop, Iran's nuclear program and will have far-reaching and dangerous consequences for the U.S., Israel, the region and, indeed, the world. They have also made clear that the best chance for avoiding war is precisely the course your administration has already staked out: tough, sustained, robust diplomacy, in tandem with the sanctions that are already being imposed against the Iranian regime.

As the New York Times wrote only a few days ago: "There is still time for intensified diplomacy." This is not the time to set a deadline for diplomacy. We urge you to continue to resist election season pressures and remain committed to this strategy.

As your administration has made clear, correctly, this is not to say that all options, including military action, should not remain on the table. However, any discourse about war must be sober and fact-based, involving an objective weighing of all options and a clear-eyed accounting of possible consequences. It must be a discourse in which the voices of reason and wisdom from America's - and Israel's - own military and intelligence communities are not marginalized in favor of the kind of dangerous ideologues and fantasists who took the U.S. down the path of war in Iraq.

Sincerely,

James Klutznick,
Chairman

Debra DeLee,
President & CEO