As the drumbeat for war with Iran grows louder veteran diplomats are straining to be heard, urging as Ambassadors Thomas Pickering and William Luers did in the New York Times¹, a robust, new diplomatic initiative.

Thankfully, some elected officials are listening, anxious to avoid yet another Middle East war. Representatives Keith Ellison (D-MN) and Walter Jones (R-NC) are seeking their colleagues' signatures on a thoughtful letter² to the President that supports both sanctions and pressure on Iran as well as a robust diplomatic initiative.

Israel's former Mossad chief Meir Dagan warned that an attack against Iran “would mean regional war… giv[ing] Iran the best possible reason to continue the nuclear program." Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta has also noted that Iran could retaliate against the United States, “sinking our ships, striking our military bases… not only involve[ing] many lives, but I think could consume the Middle East in a confrontation and a conflict that we would regret.”³

The Republican Chair of the House Intelligence Committee Mike Rogers has talked on CNN of the "real problem" that a military strike could cause for the national security interests of the United States⁴. The Democratic Chair of the Senate's Intelligence Committee Dianne Feinstein echoed Ambassadors Pickering and Luers' call for diplomacy just this weekend⁵.

Ask your Member of Congress to join the Ellison-Jones letter calling for robust, sustained diplomacy to prevent a costly new war.