Julie's letter to Senator Hillary R. Clinton on Iran

February 15, 2997

Julie wrote to Senator Hillary R. Clinton:

I was shocked to learn that you regard Iran's nuclear
>> energy program as an "existential threat" to the
>> United States. The U.S. signed the non-proliferation
>> treaty that gives Iran the right to develop nuclear
>> energy, so clearly the notion that such research is a
>> threat to us is a new one in U.S. policy circles.
>>
>> It is only Israel that until now has claimed an
>> "existential" fear of Iran developing nuclear weapons.
>> It is unclear to me why Israel is more worried about
>> Iran than Pakistan, when Iran hasn't invaded another
>> country in over two centuries. The U.S. has
>> encouraged both Pakistan and India to go nuclear.
>> Even in the unlikely event that Iran were to violate
>> the NPT successfully under the NPT inspections regime,
>> and Israel were to lose its nuclear monopoly in the
>> area, in what way would the outcome be anything but a
>> stalemate?--no more of an "existential threat" than
>> the one posed by the balance of nuclear power between
>> the U.S. and Russia, India and Pakistan, etc.
>>
>> Your willingness to threaten a country that does not
>> pose a serious threat to the U.S. with genocidal
>> nuclear annihilation is, to say the least, extremely
>> troubling. People's most fundamental human right is
>> the right to their own lives. The U.S. obliged
>> ourselves by signing the Geneva Conventions not to
>> arbitrarily threaten people because of their
>> nationality, and not to carry out genocidal assaults
>> on civilians or the infrastructure that supports their
>> day-to-day lives. You are currently sworn to uphold
>> the U.S. Constitution, which includes all our treaty
>> obligations.
>>
>> Senator Clinton, you were elected to represent the
>> people of New York and to uphold the U.S.
>> constitution. I am a Democratic Party District Leader
>> in Yonkers. Until your position vis a vis Iran
>> returns to respect for human rights and international
>> law, and against "pre-emptive" (i.e. aggressive) war,
>> I will be obliged to oppose your candidacy for higher
>> office.

Sincerely,
Julie ...