• "Well written, well researched, and the thesis put forth is well argued.... Woods has opened up an area of historical analysis that should invite further study."
    -Journal of American History

  • "During these times that challenge our freedoms there is no one more qualified to make U.S. history relevant to the fight against big government than Thomas Woods."
    -Barry Goldwater Jr.
    Former Member of Congress

  • "I strongly recommend Woods's work."
    -The Honorable Ron Paul,
    U.S. House of Representatives

  • "Written with great clarity and fluency, making the complex philosophical and theological concepts approachable."
    -Journal of American Studies

  • "A must-read."
    -Barron's

  • "An excellent reading source for anyone interested in financial markets, and much more so for anyone interested in learning about capitalism without all the misinterpretations being thrown about in the financial media."
    -Asia Times

  • "Provocative, well-written, and deserves to be read."
    -Catholic Historical Review

  • "An engaging and important contribution to scholarship on the history of American Catholicism."
    -Journal of the Historical Society

  • "Woods and [co-author Kevin] Gutzman appeal to both left and right in this constitutionalist jeremiad…. The authors' exegeses of the Constitution and court decisions, heavy on original intent arguments, are lucid and telling."
    -Publishers Weekly

  • "A marvelous read. Every chapter taught me something new and unexpected."
    -Tom Bethell, senior editor,
    The American Spectator

  • "The hottest book today is Meltdown, by my friend Tom Woods."
    -Judge Andrew Napolitano, senior judicial analyst,
    FOX News Channel

  • "Should be required reading."
    -Economic Affairs (London)

  • "Woods, one of the best classical liberal [libertarian] scholars of his generation, has once more placed us in his debt with this lucid and tightly argued book."
    -David Gordon, The Mises Review

  • "Tom Woods is one of my dearest allies in the struggle against wrong-headed and dangerous economic policy."
    -Peter Schiff

Best Case Against War with Iran?

What’s the best article you’ve read against war with Iran? I’m collecting the best links on the subject and would welcome your contribution.

Unlearn the Propaganda!

  • http://twitter.com/MooseOfReason Jeff

    This NY Times report about the 1953 coup:
    http://www.nytimes.com/library/world/mideast/041600iran-cia-index.html

    We’ve overthrown their elected government, installed a dictatorship, and taught their secret police how to torture; they don’t need another reason to hate us.

  • http://www.facebook.com/jrobertsonub James Robertson

    Justin Logan at Cato brought up some good points in an early analysis of reactions to the yet-to-be-released IAEA report here: http://www.cato-at-liberty.org/dont-jump-the-gun-on-iaeas-iran-report/

  • Anonymous

    Judge Nap posted this one a while ago, titled: 6 B.S. Myths You Probably Believe About America’s ‘Enemies’:

    http://www.cracked.com/article_19461_6-b.s.-myths-you-probably-believe-about-americas-enemies.html

  • Jeremy

    The “very scary” Iranian Terror plot – Salon.com
    Greenwald with his usual viciousness on the fake Iranian plot recently. I know he’s got a couple real good ones on the case against Iran in general but I can’t currently locate them. I’ll keep looking,

  • Jeremy
  • Pmasonjr

    What is scary is the current regime isn’t even concerned that its ramp-up to attack Iran is EXACTLY like the former regime’s ramp-up to attack Iraq…,damn near point for point.  You would have thought they’d try to spin it as being totally different from the Bush assault on Iraq and at least use a different game plan.  It’s like they’re saying “yeah, we know the American people know what we’re doing, and we don’t give a damn.  We’re going to do what WE want to do, and to hell with the mundanes.”

  • Pmasonjr

    What is scary is the current regime isn’t even concerned that its ramp-up to attack Iran is EXACTLY like the former regime’s ramp-up to attack Iraq…,damn near point for point.  You would have thought they’d try to spin it as being totally different from the Bush assault on Iraq and at least use a different game plan.  It’s like they’re saying “yeah, we know the American people know what we’re doing, and we don’t give a damn.  We’re going to do what WE want to do, and to hell with the mundanes.”

  • http://twitter.com/AminCad AminCad

    Why is the US so worried about Iran, while countries that neighbor Iran, and are on the same continent, like India, China, Pakistan, Russia, and Europe (even the UK and France nowhere near to the extant as the US) are not?

    This tells you that US foreign policy is irrational and motivated by propaganda from manipulative special interest groups.

  • Dan
  • Luke

    Chomsky is always a good resource on foreign policy 
    http://www.chomsky.info/articles/20100702.htm

  • Anonymous

    I think that is what Dr. Woods intends to layout (just a guess).

  • Anonymous

    I think that is what Dr. Woods intends to layout (just a guess).

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/John-Zmirak/738297908 John Zmirak

    This isn’t student council, so I’ll vote for myself: http://antiwar.com/orig/zmirak.php?articleid=8454

  • http://twitter.com/AminCad AminCad

    I’m suggesting that the fact that the major powers near Iran are not worried about the Iranian threat, at least nowhere near as much as the US, which is on the other side of the planet, is evidence that the fears about an expansionist Iran are unwarranted.

  • Guest
  • https://openid.org/kjmonkey Joseph

    I like going back to historical precedent set by Saint Francis in choosing to pursue peaceful dialogue with the Muslim Sultan Malik al-Kamil in the midst of a Christian Crusader siege as told in Paul Moses’ “The Saint and the Sultan.”

    http://www.saintandthesultan.com/about.html

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1506960013 Daniel Briggs Boyd

    Step 1. Take a deep breath. Step 2. Say “I am not afraid of my shadow nor am I afraid of Iran.” Step 3. Remind yourself that America is the ONLY nation to ever use a nuclear bomb on another nation. Step 4. Say “I do not support preemptive war, but Hitler did.”
    Step 5. Remind yourself that Iran has zero nukes, but Russia has ~2500.
    The US has ~2000. France ~300. Israel ~300. China ~180. UK ~160. India
    & Pakistan ~100 each. Repeat as necessary. No more war!

  • Anonymous

    Step 1. Take a deep breath. Step 2. Say “I am not afraid of my shadow nor am I afraid of Iran.” Step 3. Remind yourself that America is the ONLY nation to ever use a nuclear bomb on another nation. Step 4. Say “I do not support preemptive war, but Hitler did.”
    Step 5. Remind yourself that Iran has zero nukes, but Russia has ~2500.
    The US has ~2000. France ~300. Israel ~300. China ~180. UK ~160. India
    & Pakistan ~100 each. Repeat as necessary. No more war!

  • http://www.facebook.com/gviaud George Viaud

    While this is not an article in itself, I would suggest that such an article would be one that instead of trying to make the best case against war with Iran, one that tried to make the best case FOR war with Iran – such an article (being factual and non-persuasive) being the best way to prove that War with Iran is nonsensical.  We would no sooner go to war with a lost tribe in Kenya as they would have equal ability to deliver such a weapon to our doorsteps let alone ability to manufacture or reason to use the same.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=49903057 Ed Dehm

    In this brief video Scott Horton (of anti-war.com) dispels the myths of Iran’s nuclear program. He quotes UN reports that show Iran is not developing nuclear weapons. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tb4etdm86Qg

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Phillip-McDaniel/1176265924 Phillip McDaniel

    You’re assuming there is a difference between the Obama regime and the Bush regime.  Bad assumption ;) .  Seriously there is so little difference between Demicans and Republicrats at this juncture I’m not sure why they don’t just join forces…. oh wait then how would they squabble over the couple issues they have no reason to resolve just to get reelected.  

  • Brian

    Here, in a two minute video, Rick Santorum says that he, as president, would support a preemptive strike on Iran.  He gives the usual neocon reasoning.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=esrHIhDIFbs      

  • Martin Brock

    Scott Horton is my hero. He done more to revitalize my libertarian ideals in the last few years than anyone else could have, and I’m sure he’s even more inspirational to younger people. [I'll be fifty in January.] Horton is bright, articulate, well informed, idealistic and, best of all, self-taught. He works through the podcast medium rather than more formal channels, but he’s a first-rate scholar out of the mold of Eric Hoffer, and he attracts top-notch guests to his podcast by sheer, unadorned merit. I’ve supported Antiwar.com for years now largely thanks to Antiwar Radio. If you aren’t a regular listener, you presumably don’t know what you’re missing, and I don’t care where you sit on any political spectrum, one-, two- or ten-dimensional.

  • NJDave
  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=2221480 Paul Petrides

    Fox News Center Seat with Ron Paul.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsUxowtiu3g
    A specific case was not given, but when asked about Iran’s threat level…
    Fox News: “Is there any situation, congressmen where you would send our troops abroad?”
    Ron Paul: “If our national security was threatened.”
    Fox News: “But if Iran has a nuclear weapon and is potentially threatening us…”
    Ron Paul: “Did we attack Russia or China?”
    Fox News: (silence)
    Ron Paul: “They had a lot of nuclear weapons and we didn’t attack them.”
    Fox News: (silence)
    Ron Paul: “That was a thousand times more dangerous.”

    Silence is deafening sometimes.  We only fight wars against countries who have resources that we want.  Why else are we not as active in preventing genocide in Africa?  We only fight wars against countries who lack the means to defend themselves.  Why else did we not attack Russia or China?

  • Martin Brock

    I didn’t remember this url earlier, but Scott Horton is interviewing Flynt Leverett right now.

    http://www.raceforiran.com/

  • Brian

    Here, Bill O’Reilly drools over the idea of attacking Iran’s leaders with a drone strike.  The blonde legal guru says it would be constitutional because nobody pays attention to executive limitations anyway.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_Umi1S5KZc&feature=related

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Ken-MacMillan/683031628 Ken MacMillan
  • john

    That’s what I was going to post.

  • Alven

    I would not say that the linked article is the best case against war with Iran, but it does make for an interesting bullet point.

    Title: “Hit Iran In The Brain”

    http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=12689

  • Adam L

    Here’s something that just appeared on foreignpolicy.com today.  http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/11/07/trouble_over_tehran

  • tiarosa

    How much worse will things get in this country before people realize who the real enemy is?

  • Anonymous

    I think the most compressive is the Cato Institute Handbook for Policymakers  Iran
     http://www.cato.org/pubs/handbook/hb111/hb111-50.pdf 

    The PBS interview with General Paul Paul Van Riper has some interesting stuff in it.  http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/pentagon/interviews/vanriper.html

    That last  brings up Operation Millennium Challenge in which General Van Riper crushed Force Blue (that represented the USA) while commanding Force Red (using unconventional tactics and  assets available to a rogue Persian Gulf State….( read  Iran).    In the simulated battle, Van Riper inflicted massive casualties  on Force Blue including the sinking of 16 US ships.
     http://www.rense.com/general64/fore.htm  
    also:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millennium_Challenge_2002

    Van Ripper embarrassed the Pentagon brass so much they re wrote the rules to ban the use of unconventional tactics by the opposing force!  Like an enemy would agree to rules on playing nice????  …..Hilarious. 

    Van Ripper earned my respect along with Col (ret) Douglas MacGregor  and Andrew Bacevich amoung others.  We’ve had some truly great leaders in our military.  Most never get to the highest ranks.  Those are reserved for political generals of dubious competence. 

    I highly recommend the above articles.