opinion

Who can put a stop to endless war? Bernie Sanders is the choice

My loving fellow Iowan,

I ask for your solidarity this upcoming presidential caucus as an Iranian American who is concerned about the safety and freedom of Iranians and Americans.

We are at the closest to direct war between my two countries that we have thus reached over the course of my 23 years of life. It has been a difficult month. On Jan. 3, a United States drone strike killed Islamic Republic general Qasem Soleimani at Baghdad International Airport. This was an act of profound recklessness, escalation, and violence; while I unequivocally oppose authoritarianism and imperialism in all forms, including Iranian involvement in Iraq, murder is never the answer. Love is always the answer.

In the ensuing mayhem, on Jan. 8, the Islamic Republic shot down a plane shortly after takeoff from Tehran, an act of unconscionable carelessness stealing 176 beautiful, precious lives. On Jan. 20, U.S. Customs and Border Protection detained 24-year-old Mohammad Abadi, an Iranian student at Northeastern University on a student visa returning from winter break, at Boston International Airport and deported him later that night. This, despite a court order for him to stay. What do we even stand for as a nation?

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I am part of Never Again Action, a progressive Jewish activism group that exposes, opposes, and seeks to dismantle institutional white supremacist violence, drawing connections between treatment of Jews throughout global history, including the Holocaust, and ongoing treatment of minoritized peoples by politicians. I see it as a patriotic duty to suggest that Iran functions as a giant prison or concentration camp. It is incredibly difficult for Iranians to leave the borders of Iran. On top of this, Iranians face collective retribution wrath from the U.S. government for the actions of their government, including sanctions that starve the Iranian poor and working-class and ongoing threat of military attack. Never again is now.

With the caucus coming up on Feb. 3, I write to remind you that the president is commander-in-chief, possessing the fates of millions of lives, including the disproportionately poor and working-class members of the U.S. military, in the palms of their hands.

Sen. Bernard Sanders is the candidate I trust most to heal relations between America and the Middle East. He is the only candidate for president running from Congress to consistently oppose Trump’s military budget increases. He led the passage of a bipartisan resolution through the Republican-led Senate to end U.S. support of the Saudi dictator’s genocide in Yemen. He voted against the Iraq War in 2002, demonstrating crucial humanity and judgement. Finally, Bernie has the strongest record when it comes to fighting for dignified treatment of our veterans: in response to the Veterans Affairs health care scandal of 2014, Sanders worked with the late Sen. John McCain to pass funding to strengthen the VA. All in all, I see tremendous restoration potential in a Sanders presidency, and I ask that you keep this in mind as you finalize your caucus decision.

Daniel Hamidi is a former Iowa field organizer for the Bernie Sanders campaign, working out of the Iowa City office, organizing primarily in Cedar County, rural parts of Johnson County (including Lone Tree), and Washington County from June 2019 until her resignation in November 2019. Daniel is an alumna of Yale College, where she completed a major in American Studies in March 2019.