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VVAW Member Visits Iran

By Stanley Campbell

Stanley Campbell and Moksan Maksani

The second Fellowship of Reconciliation (www.forusa.org) delegation to Iran met with human-rights educators, environmentalists, students, women's groups, religious leaders, and veterans. Twenty-three American peace activists, myself included, landed in Tehran for a whirlwind tour: five cities in twelve days, in an "Axis of Evil" country on the verge of acquiring nuclear reactors. Three of us were veterans; I was the only VVAW member.

First, let me say that the Iranian people send you their love. Their new president just sent a letter to Bush outlining grievances but offering dialogue. This hit the news as we arrived in Tehran. Iranians consistently asked, "What do you think of Bush?" "Will he read the letter?" and "What do you think of our nuclear program?" I apologized for my president, saying that I doubted he would read the letter. I said that nuclear power is too expensive and that I don't trust governments to keep it safe. We also said that the United States must stop producing nuclear weapons and that the rest of the world, instead of trying to acquire them, should abolish nukes.

Our peace delegation was well received, and we went to Shiraz, Isfahan, and Qom (the Vatican of the Shiites, although it looked more like Vegas). In Natanz, we visited an orphanage and saw a nuclear facility surrounded by antiaircraft artillery.

Because of the Iranian president's letter, we were interviewed by the BBC, CNN, Reuters, and the Associated Press. (Democracy Now ran a clip—thanks, Amy!) We met more officials than expected; most of them began with religious litanies and exhortations to become Shiite. Those guys are more evangelical than Billy Graham!

On the way home, the US secretary of state said she was going to hire more Farsi-speaking experts. About time! Our government hasn't had diplomatic relations with Iran since 1979, except for trading arms for hostages. I gave my five-CD collection of "Basic Farsi" to Condi. It was the least I could do to get my government to talk peace.

Stephen Fryburg, veteran and director of the Dayton Peace Museum, Frank Gatti of NJ Vets For Peace, and Stanley Campbell (VVAW) salute the Iran veterans cemetery and vow no more war.

In Tehran, we visited the International Centre for Training and Treatment of the Victims of Chemical Warfare. Most of them had been injured during the ten-year Iran-Iraq war. Iran, led by fanatical mullahs who didn't know military tactics from morning prayers, sent wave after volunteer wave of young, idealistic cannon fodder. It was the longest stalemate since World War I, and Iraq used chemical weapons.

Moksan Maksani, one of Iran's soldiers, threw himself on the front. He had lost two hands and was chemically blinded, but he sat before us, twenty-three American peace activists who'd just gotten off the plane. Iranian dignitaries watched our response. Moksan spoke softly in self-taught English. He was "defending his country," but war "had bitter consequences" and there must be a better way. "Americans have helped the world," he said, and he counts as his heroes Jefferson and Washington. He said that "Americans support individual rights" and "the US should lead the world to peace."

He spoke as if he were a VVAW member—from the heart. I gave Moksan a VVAW pin and a baseball cap with Chicago Bulls NBA championship insignia. He mentioned how unfortunate it was that the Bulls had lost Michael Jordan. I wish I could bring Moksan to America to speak about how veterans can lead their countries away from the battlefield.