Since we started our campaign to elevate the voices of veterans who support a diplomacy-first approach with Iran, over 20,000 men and women who have worn our country’s uniform have added their names in support.

Today, I want to share a few of their stories with you, and to let you know that in the next few weeks, we’re going to be flying almost two dozen veterans and military family members out the nation’s capital to make their voices heard loud and clear.

Contribute $3 to help VoteVets bring these veterans to Washington, D.C. to lobby the Democratic representatives we need to hold the line ahead of the vote on the Iran deal later this month.

Dennis, an Operation Enduring Freedom Veteran (Afghanistan) wrote in that “The alternative is an eventual war, again, in the Middle East.”

Matt, an Iraq War Veteran from Colorado added, “Based on my experience in Iraq, I feel that diplomacy is a better path than military action in southwest Asia … Voting [against] the nuclear treaty with Iran would perpetuate our involvement in the region and likely lead to the next generation of our military being worn out in the region.”

Kevin, also an Iraq War Veteran says, “Diplomacy should always be the 1st option. It’s the best option. War is a last resort. With Iraq it was the 1st choice. 4500 Americans and countless Iraqis died for WMD’s that didn’t exist.”

We’re going to bring veterans who have served overseas – people like Dennis, Matt, and Kevin – to tell their legislators how their experiences in war inform their desire for America to reach for a peaceful way to disabuse Iran of their nuclear ambitions.

Contribute $3 today to help us bring them to Washington, D.C. to share their stories.

We received thousands of letters like theirs. Letters from veterans who served in Afghanistan, Iraq, Korea, Vietnam, and more — generations of combat veterans who wrote in support of the deal.

Congress needs to understand their perspective. Thanks for helping us make their voices heard.

Jon Soltz
Iraq War Veteran and Chairman
VoteVets

The 51 Day War: Ruin and Resistance in Gaza

Book by Max Blumenthal

Published: June 30, 2015

Author: Max Blumenthal

On July 8, 2014, Israel launched air strikes on Hamas-controlled Gaza, followed by a ground invasion. The ensuing fifty-one days of war left more than 2,200 people dead, the vast majority of whom were Palestinian civilians, including over 500 children. During the assault, at least 10,000 homes were destroyed and, according to the United Nations, nearly 300,000 Palestinians were displaced. Max Blumenthal was in Gaza and throughout Israel–Palestine during what he argues was an entirely avoidable catastrophe. In this explosive work of intimate reportage, Blumenthal reveals the harrowing conditions and cynical deceptions that led to the ruinous war—and tells the human stories.

Blumenthal brings the battles in Gaza to life, detailing the ferocious clashes that took place when Israel’s military invaded the besieged strip. He radically shifts the discussion around a number of highly contentious issues: the use of civilians as human shields by Israeli forces, the arbitrary targeting of Palestinian civilians, and the radicalization of Israeli public officials and top military personnel. Amid the rubble of Gaza’s border regions, Blumenthal recorded the testimonies from scores of residents, documenting potential war crimes committed by the Israeli armed forces while carefully examining the military doctrine that led to them.

More than a chronicle of war and devastation, The 51 Day War is an urgent warning that the aftermath of the conflict has made another military assault on Gaza almost inevitable. And while the people of Gaza will once again prove their resilience, the world can no longer just stand aside and watch.

Resource: Amazon.org