I sincerely hope that the media, government officials and the public in general will take a long pause before taking all the latest Iran hype too seriously. One would think that caution would be the order of the day given most recent moral and financial boondoggle of Iraq. Were a general sense of caution (and a well deserved skepticism of government pronouncements) not enough I would implore people to consider a few simple facts about the current state of affairs.

First, Iran has not threatened anyone. The most strident thing they have said is that if attacked, they would respond. Given the United States newly minted right to preemptively strike any nation it desires, in comparison Iran’s position is restrained to say the least.

Second, even Iran’s long-time enemy and neighbor (and quasi-puppet regime of the United States) Iraq has stated they want no part of a strike against Iran and would not participate.

Third, how can Iran’s weapons be considered provocative when another middle eastern country, Israel, has nuclear weapons and has stated an openness to a preemptive strike on Iran.

Fourth, how can we rail at Iran’s meddling in middle eastern affairs (Iraq’s for example) when the United States brought armed forces half way around the world to complete a regime change (of its desire) on Iran’s neighbor. Who is really the intruder in this setting? In addition, informed sources admit that the United States has been covertly involved in operations inside Iran for some time.

Fifth, how can we complain of Iran’s repressive regime when the United States has spent the past five years arresting and imprisoning at will, with no formal charges, thousands of citizens of Iraq who disagree with our presence and/or oppose the regime we installed. What kind of democracy is that?

None of the above even begin to touch on the moral and financial arguments against any military strike on Iran. I can only hope the media especially will not repeat its much regretted rubber stamp of the Iraq invasion. I implore the media to skip the hype, look at all the realities of the situation, encourage exploration of all options and, most of all, not jump on the bandwagon for another war.

Michael D. Colligan
St. Louis