STOPPING THE WAR BEFORE IT STARTS: WHAT WE NEED TO KNOW TO RESIST A WAR AGAINST IRAN

A community teach-in
With Ervand Abrahamian, Kaveh Ehsani, and Timothy Mitchell
Moderated by Leili Kashani
Presented by Action Wednesdays Against War **

Wednesday, April 26 at 7:30pm
Judson Memorial Church (directions below)*

"We may face no greater challenge from a single country than from Iran. ... If necessary, under long-standing principles of self defense, we do not rule out the use of force before attacks occur." 
- United States National Security Strategy 2006. http://www.whitehouse.gov/nsc/nss/2006/nss2006.pdf

Weapons of mass destruction
Islamic terrorists
People in need of liberation and democracy
Open calls for regime change

DEJA VU?

Three years into the war on Iraq the same rumors and stereotypes are being deployed, only this time, with multilateral support ? and against Iranians.

The United States of America, which remains the only country to have ever used an atomic weapon against a civilian population and today has 890 permanent military bases in 130 countries, continues to talk about imminent threats to its security.

How is this like and unlike the lead-up to attacking Iraq?
Is this about Iran's alleged pursuit of nuclear weapons?
Or regime change? Is this about oil?
Does international law have a role to play?
Why aren't we mobilizing against deeper sanctions and a war on Iran?
How can we do things differently this time?

Join Action Wednesdays Against War for this important conversation, designed to provide critical information about the crisis and opportunities for solidarity with progressive political movements in Iran and with anti-war forces throughout the world.

About the Speakers:

Ervand Abrahamian is Distinguished Professor of History at the City University of New York, and has written extensively on modern Iran. His books include Iran Between Two Revolutions, The Iranian Mojahedin, Khomeinism: Essays on the Islamic Republic, Tortured Confessions, and a co-authored work titled Inventing the Axis of Evil: The Truth About North Korea, Iran, and Syria. He has been a regular commentator on Iran and a guest on "Democracy Now!" His articles include "Neocons and their Nemeses in Iran" boundary 2 (Spring 2005) and "Iran: The next Target?" Global Agenda (2005). http://www.globalagendamagazine.com/2005/ervandabrahamian.asp

Kaveh Ehsani is the co-editor of the journal Goft-o-Gu in Tehran, and an editor of Middle East Report (MERIP) in Washington DC. He has published widely in Persian and English on Iranian politics and relations with the United States, and on urbanization and regional development in Iran. He is a director of the Jomhur Cultural and Social Research Association in Tehran. Some of his most recent articles for MERIP include "Neo-Conservatives, Hardline Clerics and the Bomb" (Winter 2004), "Round 12 for Iran's Reformists" (January 2004), and "Iran's Presidential Runoff: The Long View" (June 2005).
http://www.merip.org/mero/mero062405.html

Timothy Mitchell is Professor of Politics and Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies at New York University, and currently directs the International Center for Advanced Studies at NYU. His books, Colonising Egypt, Rule of Experts: Egypt, Techno-Politics, Modernity, and the edited collection Questions of Modernity, and his articles on the political economy of oil have helped transform the study of the Middle East. His articles include "McJihad: Islam in the U.S. Global Order" Social Text (Winter 2003) and "The Limits of the State" American Political Science Review (1991).
http://muse.jhu.edu/cgi-bin/access.cgi?uri=/journals/social_text/v020/20.4mitchell.html

Leili Kashani is a Ph.D. student in the joint program in History and Middle East and Islamic Studies at New York University. She has been a student council member at The International Society for Iranian Studies, and is an editor at Arab Studies Journal. She helped organize the World Tribunal on Iraq (NY session, May 2004) and is part of the Action Wednesdays Against War organizing collective. She is also part of the "Global Movements, Urban Struggles" radio collective and co-produced a show about a possible US-led attack on Iran on March 21. http://archive.wbai.org/files/mp3/060321_100002gmus.MP3


Co-sponsored by Arab Studies Journal, Brecht Forum, Campaign Against Sanctions and Military Intervention in Iran (CASMII), Left Turn, Middle East Report, Persian Cultural Society (NYU), Students for Justice in Palestine (NYU), United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ), War Resisters League, and Youth Solidarity Summer (YSS).

Our thanks to the staff and congregation of Judson Church for the use of this space.
Judson continues to be a beacon for free spirits in the arts and politics and a leader among progressive faith communities in the city and nation for over 100 years.

* Judson Memorial Church is located at 55 Washington Square South (between Thompson and Sullivan Streets)
For directions, please see http://www.judson.org/directions.htm

** Action Wednesdays Against War is a collective that meets at the Brecht Forum (www.brechtforum.org) to provide a space for dialogue in the anti-war movement.

For more information contact: actionwednesday@gmail.com

... Payvand News - 4/26/06 ... --