Below is a sample letter written by VFP Board Vice President, Gerry Condon. Send a letter to your editor and let your voice be heard!
Feel free to use the letter as written or modify as needed. Be sure to include your senator's name, your name and your VFP Chapter number to the letter before submitting.
Dear Editor,
Recent media reports about negotiations over Iran's nuclear program are disappointingly one-dimensional and misleading. For example, it is all but accepted that Iran is developing a nuclear weapon. Yet all sixteen U.S. intelligence agencies report there is NO evidence that Iran is building a nuclear bomb. Israel's own intelligence agency, the Mossad, says the same.
As a veteran, I know that democracy is dependent upon a well informed public. People should be able to consider all the relevant facts.
Israeli leaders may feel threatened by the re-emergence of Iran as a strong regional power, as has historically been the case. But they know that Iran poses no military threat to Israel. The U.S. should not allow itself to be “played” in a regional power struggle.
A peaceful, stable Middle East is in the interests of the American people, the Iranian people, the people of Israel, of the region and of the world.
As a military veteran, I know that war is horrible as well as futile. The militarization of U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East has been a disaster for all concerned.
I am grateful that President Obama and Secretary of State Kerry are pursuing diplomacy with Iran, instead of more sanctions, leading to a war that could kill hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians.
As a signer of the Treaty for Nuclear Non-Proliferation (NPT), Iran has the legal right to develop nuclear power for peaceful purposes. Instead of pressuring Iran, the U.S. government should take steps to comply with its own obligations under the NPT. The U.S. should be destroying its nuclear weapons instead of developing a new generation of doomsday missiles.
Let's make sure our Congressman and Senators are well informed, and do not sign any bill that would undermine the possibility of achieving a peaceful, negotiated solution with Iran.
Diplomacy not war!
[Your Name Here]
Veterans For Peace, Chapter ###