By Rostam Pourzal, CASMII

You signed petitions against Persian Gulf name abuses and you sent help to earthquake victims in Bam. But your job is not finished. Hostile battleships are turning Iran's coastal waters into an Anglo-American Gulf as they wait for orders to inflict worse devastation in Iran than the Bam earth quake. The imposition of UN sanctions is the first step towards war, as it was in the case of Iraq. What will you do in 2007 to save thousands of Iranian children from being buried under rubble?

Opponents of war on Iran in Congress are besieged by expatriate hawks and are asking the rest of us to stand for peace. Before it is too late, let us not allow extremists who are Iranian in name only speak for us in Washington. On January 27 a coalition of hundreds of American antiwar groups, United for Peace and Justice, will hold a mass protest against the fraud that's called "pre-emptive" war and makes the United States less safe. Campaign Against Sanctions and Military Intervention in Iran (CASMII) will march with UFPJ in the nation's capital to oppose foreign aggression in Iran. The people of Iran expect us to act on their behalf, and joining a legal protest is the least we can do.

We can not count on the new Democratic majority in Congress to make U.S. or Israeli aggression against Iran less likely. Now as the 2008 race for the White House begins, American politicians will needle each other to "get tough with Iran" in order to score points with the Israeli lobby. On January 27, let us send them the message that the people of Iran are capable of deciding their own future (including whether they need nuclear energy). Let us make it clear that foreign intervention will only slow Iran's progress towards full democracy.

Thousands of other Americans are traveling to DC from as far away as the West Coast to say no to war in Iraq. Shouldn't you be there visibly with signs and banners demanding peace with Iran?

In past antiwar demonstrations, we have spotted concerned Iranian Americans in scattered groups of two or three. But Iran is now finally on the slippery slope toward being attacked in the name of "war on terror." We ask for your help as we work to draw more Iranians to the protest this time. We are also asking participants to assemble in one place before joining the larger UFPJ march as a single bloc. Dozens of American friends of CASMII will be there with us.

We are an independent, international network of supporters of Iran's national sovereignty (not supporters of Iran's government) and U.S. reconciliation with Iran. The "IGNORANCE, NOT IRAN, IS THE ENEMY" banner we carry may have caught your eye in past demonstrations. We are united with millions of other Americans who demand respect for international law and the right of nations to live free from war crimes. To learn the time and location of our January 27 march, please check our website at www.campaignIran.org by mid-January, after the police permit details are finalized. For information on chartered buses taking protesters to Washington from your city, please see www.unitedforpeace.org . If you're affiliated with an Iranian or American group, we hope you will consider posting this invitation on their website, blog, or listserv. Thank you.

SANCTIONS ARE NOT "BETTER THAN WAR."

THEY ARE A MAJOR STEP TOWARD WAR.