i am an advocate for peace nonviolence human rights and social justice i painfully witness my government perpetuate a permanent state of war military invasions occupations killing displacement and the dehumanization of innocent people have become accepted behavior violence and war are not the answer to any question in march of two thousand and seven a civilian diplomacy peace delegation the third organized by the fellowship of reconciliation travel to the republic iran i am grateful to be one of those twenty three i went to iran to see learn and interpret through my own discernment what i found was a country rich in culture history legend beauty and diversity and a warm loving and hospitable people who only want peace i am not an apolog government i am one voice who speaks for the millions of lives threatened by the actions of governments i made this film to share facts you may have forgotten or not know blended with my personal experience this is my piece of the truth in order to make wise choices individuals must have access to factual information unfortunately we're not educated by mainstream media today they're directed by corporate sponsors and we're fed propaganda and are manipulated iran is an immense repository of art civilization and culture with relics as old as nine thousand years covering approximately six hundred thirty thousand square miles it's bordered by iraq turkmenistan the caspian sea the persian gulf afghanistan and pakistan the highest peak mount dam of aand rises to eighteen thousand six hundred two feet and as part of the allegories mountains the lowest point in iran is the caspian sea at ninety two feet below sea level the official religion of iran is the shiite branch of islam followed by more than ninety five percent of the population some of the most sacred shiite sites in the world are in iran sunny muslims form about four percent of the population along with small communities of christians jews and zorro astra and all of whom have a seat in the parliament tehran with fourteen million people is the capital and center of cultural economic and political and social activities beautiful restaurants in northern tehran with ageless and timeless architecture that seem to emerge directly from the rock face the official language of iran is modern persian or farsi and is written in the arabic alphabet several minority groups in iran retain their own languages under islamic law women must be covered at all times one reason given is to remove the outer distractions not representative or reflective of the true spirit or soul there seems to be a polarized preference with many women feeling honored because of the religion and others feeling forced street vendors offer grapes raisins dates figs jellies herbs spices and fresh fruit and vegetables they say there's an art to crossing the street safely jamsheed a park lies at the base of the al bore's mountains in northern tehran stone paths teared gardens and regional themed tea dictatorship of the shah saw the palace once home to the shah is now a museum with marble floors brocaded wallpaper persian carpets and crystal chandelier samia or small meeting house is where many speeches were given an expressive mural in the meeting house honors the martyrs typical greetings heard everywhere are hello how are you where you from i love you the united states assisted saddam hussein with chemical weapons used against the iranian people both military and civilian in the iraq hundred eighty to one nine hundred eighty eight the society for chemical weapons victim support conducts medical social legal and cultural support for more than fifty thousand eighty eight there was a massive use of mustard gas on the iranian people it was the most toxic chemical used it burns on contact and when inhaled causes severe respiratory burns it is potentially lethal and is quite insoluble in water it leaves the soil barren seriously threatening the environment and food chain some of the victims had to be sent to other countries for one million people were exposed one hundred thousand casualties were reported and fifty thousand are suffering long term effect honor the persian poets with flowers and meditation at the terms of h like children everywhere the children of iran deserve to live in peace this typical mural honors the martyrs of the iraq iran war iran saw two hundred twenty thousand dead five hundred thousand injured or disabled and forty thousand p o w s iran was attacked by iraq and the world responded with silence iran has not been a military aggressor in over two hundred years trade is still centered in the bazaars in many cities found the majestic beauty of persepolis a huge stone complex built in five hundred b c for the kings of the persian empire the royal steps lead to the gate of all nations which guards the entrance as it has for thousands of years it was here that representatives of all the varied people of the empire gathered to pay homage and tribute to the king drawings of peace sent from american children were happily received like their sisters everywhere women in iran struggle with equality they constitute over sixty percent of all university attendance and are pursuing degrees in law medicine engineering art and music among others greetings of warmth and love from people of all ages welcome you to their homeland meaningful conversations lead to mutual understanding and within moments one hears expressions of affection and the desire for peace for everyone after all to brief encounters some typical comments heard our thank you for coming to my country americans are our brothers and sisters please tell the american people that we love them some are seen still living of zorro aster was possibly an ancient a nephew of the seventy mom appears to be a typical mosque on the outside complete with quiet courtyard but a site that captures your breath upon entry thousands of mirrored tiles cover the walls and ceiling a place for reflection and study all are welcome here the pink mosque is named for the preponderance of pink flowers repeated in the tiles no matter where you go you are always met with the same warmth hospitality respect and loving kindness after the attacks on september eleventh two thousand and one the first candlelight vigils in the middle east were held in iranian cities killed as in the center of shiraz and offers hand crafted metal where kill e man carpets the spiritual center is the city of qum with a population of six hundred thousand one hundred sixty thousand of those are clergy study ancient script centex are seen when touring the marashi library housing over thirty two thousand volumes of handwritten and rare manuscript in more than sixty thousand titles dating from thirteen hundred to the present day you may find tighter security here than anywhere else you visit ayatollah is the highest rank of cleric requiring twenty years of study iran has fifteen ayatollah there's diverse geography with salt flats fertile valleys sculpted deserts serene mountain vistas and busy city street han is armenian from the sixteen hundreds s four hundred was the capital of iran at that time the church is now a museum with walls covered with christian themed paintings there are thirteen other christian churches located in this same region an association museum describes the massacre of armenians in turkey in the early twentieth century thousands fled to iran at that time ninety five percent of the population of  mazda representation of the concept of one god or supreme being central to their ceremonies the eternal flame has been burning for thousands of years are good thoughts good words good deeds there are six hundred churches in iran and twenty five jewish synagogues the largest population of jews in the middle east outside of israel is in iran with numbers ranging from twenty five to thirty five  thousand square in s for han is one of the largest public squares in the world with two beautiful mosques shops and restaurants fine craftsmanship and fresh produce and beautiful by day and by night the amman square is well use and loved by the families who come to shop picnic play soccer and take buggy realize as a non nuclear signatory to the nonproliferation treaty or n p t iran has the right to build and use nuclear power plants and to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes which it has been pursuing a military strike on active nuclear reactors has the potential to cause serious and widespread radioactive contamination and unthinkable risk to take it has been demanded that iran cease its enrichment activities however in international law or the terms of the n p t the demand has no basis the people of iran want what people everywhere want the freedom to determine national issues themselves and to reclaim their place in global society one may or may not agree that nuclear energy is clean or safe but the iranian people would like to make those choices as a nation just as other nations to iran has suffered from crippling economic sanctions since one thousand nine hundred seventy nine even though they have never storied recesses galleries and arcades friends enjoy boating on the river and couples appreciate quiet moments  together as always the creative spirit is seen the rich culture and incredible beauty of the iran are only surpassed by her people people who express loving hospitality and respect while living the harsh reality of economic sanctions and frightened threats  i urge you to investigate your news sources seek truth through independent investigative journalism and demand elected officials choose diplomacy peace and reconciliation we are all part of the same human family therefore are all related the time has come for each of us to step forward with a new course of action through communication respect understanding change and commitment to promoting peace the spirit of peace we seek is passed from person to person and builds a bridge of compassion and unity around the earth will you help us build this  the wisdom of gandhi's words are reminder of the simplicity upright action there is no way to peace peace is the way morning colleagues this week congress is considering two pieces of legislation relating to iran the first undermines a diplomatic solution with iran and lowers the bar for war the second authorizes a war of choice against iran and begins military preparations for it with respect to h red five sixty eight which eliminates the most viable alternative to war the house is expected to vote on this i would urge members to read the resolution because section six rejects any u s policy that would rely on efforts to contain nuclear weapons capable iran section seven urges the president to reaffirm the unacceptab iran with nuclear weapons capability and opposition to any policy that would rely on containment as an option in response to iranian enrichment now this language represents a significant shift in u s policy and would guarantee that talks with iran currently scheduled for may twenty third would fail current u s policy is that iran cannot acquire nuclear weapons instead h read five sixty eight draws the red line for military action at iran achieving a nuclear weapons capability capability a nebulous and undefined term that would include a civilian nuclear program indeed it's likely that a negotiated deal to prevent a nuclear armed iran and to prevent war would provide for arraigning an enrichment for peaceful purposes under the framework of the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons treaty with strict safeguards and inspections this language in this bill makes such a negotiat settlement impossible at the same time language lowers the threshold for attacking iran countries with nuclear weapons capability could include many other countries like japan or brazil it is an unrealistic threshold former secretary of state colin powell has stated that this resolution quote this isn't an associate of colon polyps stated that this resolution quote reads like the same sheet of music that got us into the iraq war unquote now house resolution forty three ten the national defense authorization act authorizes war with against iran and preparing the military for it i want to point out how this happens well h read five sixty eight undermines our diplomatic efforts and lowers the bar for war h r forty three ten the n d a begins military preparations for war members are to read this section twelve twenty one makes military action against iran  us policy section twelve twenty two directs our armed forces to prepare for war now if you read the sections you'll see that what i'm saying is true now the the under subsection a it says that iran may soon attain a nuclear weapons capability a development that would threaten the united states interest to stabilize the region encourage nuclear proliferation and further empower embolden iran and on and on but the international atomic energy agency as well as the u s and israeli intelligence have all agreed that iran does not currently have a nuclear bomb is not building a nuclear weapon and does not have any plans to do so both u s and israeli officials also agree that a strike on iran would only do lay their nuclear program and actually encourage them to pursue a nuclear weapons sustained diplomatic engagement with iran is the only way to ensure transparency and to prevent a nuclear arm iran rejecting or thwarting any inspections baze deal we are currently seeking with iran even when analysts are expressed expressing guarded optimism that a new near term deal is achievable that all makes preemptive military action against iran more likely now could i ask how much i have been looking gentleman is one minute remaining ok i just want to cite some provisions further this is right from the bill  in order to prevent iran from developing nuclear weapons which they are not doing the nuclear the united states in cooperation with his allies much utilize all elements of national power including diplomacy robust economic sanctions and credible  this visible preparations for a military option under section twelve twenty two where they talk about u s military preparedness it talks of pre positioning sufficient supplies of aircraft munitions fuel and other materials for both air and sea bas missions under subsection b it talks about maintaining sufficient sufficient naval assets in the region get this to launch a sustained sea and air campaign against a range of iranian nuclear and military targets now come on we're getting ready for war against iran why i mean we ought to have a broad debate about this other than just burying this section of a bill in the national defense authorization act we have plenty of evidence there's no reason to go to war against iran we made a mistake in iraq let's not make another one with iran and set off world war three