The Iran Talks

No War on Iran - ChicagoTonight in Evanston, Illinois, a two-week speaking tour focused on preventing war continues. The title of the tour is "The Iran Talks," and the featured speaker is Scott Ritter, the former U.N. arms inspector who became a strong critic of the Bush administration's buildup toward war with Iraq.

Ritter has been joined on this tour by former U.S. Ambassador Edward Peck, the one-time U.S. Mission Chief in Iraq, as well as Jeff Norman, the director of U.S. Tour of Duty. They are visiting a dozen cities around the country to share their foreign policy experience in the light of the prospect for a new, even more dangerous war in the Middle East.

Tonight's program in the Chicago area is being organized by a local "No War on Iran" coalition, one of whose members is Danny Postel, the former senior editor at openDemocracy.net and now communications coordinator for Interfaith Worker Justice. Danny was a member of the Fellowship of Reconciliation's March 2007 interfaith peace delegation to Iran, and has a wealth of experience on issues related to Iran and the surrounding region.

Danny and the No War on Iran coalition in Chicago will also be among some two dozen cities across the country that will host another series of speaking engagements on Iran, starting on February 7th. Beginning in Los Angeles, the "Folly of Attacking Iran" tour will feature former New York Times foreign correspondent Stephen Kinzer -- the best-selling author of All the Shah's Men -- plus a whole host of foreign policy experts, journalists (like Christopher Hedges), and Iranian Americans who will respond to Kinzer's presentations.

The Fellowship of Reconciliation is cosponsoring both of these national speaking tours, and encourages our local members in these host cities to help organize the events. Please contact Ethan Vesely-Flad if you'd like more information on how to get connected to local organizers.