President Obama just announced that the U.S., Iran, and the international community have reached a historic agreement to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon—potentially setting us on a path to ending decades of hostility.1
This is a huge deal. It still has to be reviewed by Congress—and over the next 60 days, we're going to have to campaign really hard to make sure the Senate and House don't squander this chance.
But for right now, it's worth celebrating what a historic achievement this is for diplomacy. And we can be thankful that our president is working to avoid another massively destructive and costly U.S. war in the Middle East.
President Obama promised "aggressive personal diplomacy" with Iran when he campaigned for president in the 2008 primary and general election. MoveOn members rallied to his side at the time and throughout this diplomatic process.2
Now that he's shown that diplomacy can work, we need to show that the American people stand with him and will do everything in their power to give this agreement a chance to succeed and become a model for resolving other conflicts. But with opponents of diplomacy about to go all out to stop this, we have to be out there right away, visibly and loudly.
We've all seen presidents drag us into war. It's not every day we see one help the country steer clear of one. It makes me glad and proud that we have a president who truly gives peace a chance.
We don't always agree with everything President Obama does—on foreign policy or otherwise—but here he deserves credit. Especially because he'll take significant heat for it—from super-hawks like Tom Cotton, the senator who memorably spearheaded an open letter to the leaders of Iran telling them not to trust our own State Department or president; from Fox News; and even from folks who should know better, including some Senate Democrats.
–Jo, Matt, Anna, Joan, and the rest of the team
Sources:
1. "Iran Nuclear Deal is Reached with World Powers," The New York Times, July 14, 2015
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=305457&id=124557-10220574-T%3Drfdtx&t=4
2. "Obama Envisions New Iran Approach," The New York Times, November 2, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/02/us/politics/02obama.html
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