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Last Updated on February 13, 2014.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 12, 2014

Washington, DC- Win Without War applauds the recent ‘Give Diplomacy a Chance’ letter, sent by a bipartisan group of 104 members of the House of Representatives, in support of ongoing diplomatic efforts with Iran. The letter specifically calls on Congress to avoid any “bill or resolution that risks fracturing our international coalition or, worse yet, undermining our credibility in future negotiations and jeopardizing hard-won progress toward a verifiable final agreement.”

“This important letter is yet another clear example that Congress is hearing the voice of the American public who overwhelmingly support diplomacy with Iran,” said Stephen Miles, Coalition Coordinator of Win Without War. “Americans want to see our leaders support diplomacy, not sabotage it, and avoid another disastrous war in the Middle East.”

Over the past six months, the Win Without War coalition has helped coordinate a grassroots campaign that has resulted in over one million actions in support of diplomacy with Iran. Through a combination of petitions, emails and phone calls to Congress, American activists from numerous organizations have added their voices to the ongoing debate in Washington on this important issue. Coalition members have helped lead the fight against sanctions and other dangerous efforts that could sabotage diplomacy and put our nation on the path to war.

The full letter is below.

February 12, 2014

Dear Mr. President:

As Members of Congress—and as Americans—we are united in our unequivocal commitment to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. The proliferation of nuclear weapons in the Middle East would threaten the security of the United States and our allies in the region, particularly Israel.

The ongoing implementation of the Joint Plan of Action agreed to by Iran and the “P5+1” nations last November increases the possibility of a comprehensive and verifiable international agreement. We understand that there is no assurance of success and that, if talks break down or Iran reneges on pledges it made in the interim agreement, Congress may be compelled to act as it has in the past by enacting additional sanctions legislation. At present, however, we believe that Congress must give diplomacy a chance. A bill or resolution that risks fracturing our international coalition or, worse yet, undermining our credibility in future negotiations and jeopardizing hard-won progress toward a verifiable final agreement, must be avoided.

We remain wary of the Iranian regime. But we believe that robust diplomacy remains our best possible strategic option, and we commend you and your designees for the developments in Geneva. Should negotiations fail or falter, nothing precludes a change in strategy. But we must not imperil the possibility of a diplomatic success before we even have a chance to pursue it.

Sincerely,

Members of Congress: Bass; Bishop, Sanford; Beatty; Blumenauer; Bordallo; Brown, Corrine; Butterfield, GK; Capps; Capuano; Carson, Andre; Cartwright; Christensen; Clarke, Yvette; Clay, William Lacy; Cleaver; Clyburn; Cohen; Connolly; Conyers; Cooper; Courtney; Cummings; Davis, Danny; DeFazio; DeGette; DeLauro; Dingell; Doggett; Duncan John J., Jr; Edwards; Ellison; Enyart; Eshoo; Farr; Foster; Fudge; Garamendi; Grijalva; Gutierrez; Hanna; Holt; Huffman; Jackson-Lee; Johnson, Eddie Bernice; Johnson, Hank; Jones, Walter; Kaptur; Keating; Kelly, Robin; Kildee; Kuster; Larson; Lee; Lewis; Loebsack; Lofgren; Lynch; Massie; Matheson; McCarthy, Carolyn; McCollum; McDermott; McGovern; McNerney; Meeks; Miller, George; Moore; Moran; Negrete McLeod; Nolan; Norton; O’Rourke; Pastor; Payne Jr.; Pierluisi; Pingree; Pocan; Polis; Price, David; Rahall; Rangel; Roybal-Allard; Ruppersberger; Rush; Ryan, Tim; Sablan; Schakowsky; Scott, Bobby; Shea-Porter; Slaughter; Speier; Takano; Thompson, Bennie; Thompson, Mike; Tierney; Tonko; Tsongas; Van Hollen; Velazquez; Visclosky; Walz; Waters; Welch; Yarmuth

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Win Without War is a coalition of national organizations with diverse constituencies originally founded in opposition to the Iraq War. The coalition remains active in opposition to the continued U.S. war in Afghanistan, the dangerous rush to war with Iran, and the underlying national security strategy on which these conflicts are based.  We seek a fundamentally new approach to meet the national security challenges of the United States that is consistent with our nation’s highest values.

For more information visit www.winwithoutwar.org

or

Contact Stephen Miles, 504-289-3594, stephen@winwithoutwar.org

February 13, 2014