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To the editor:
When Americans vote in 2024, they need to consider two things: the obvious dangers from a right-wing extremist Republican Party and Supreme Court, and the less obvious dangers from a belligerent national security surveillance state with a $900 billion military budget.
First, will Americans give informed consent to Biden’s proxy war in Ukraine, caused by the brutal Russian invasion? The recent leak of classified Pentagon documents reveals how Washington has successfully spied on its adversaries and its allies (after 9/11, the NSA also illegally spied on the American people). It also detailed the military challenges faced by Kyiv and Moscow, and predicted “a protracted war beyond 2023” that will likely result in a stalemate. The U.S.-led NATO strategy is to wait until the Western-armed Ukraine drives out Russian forces from eastern and southern parts of the country. Only then can Ukraine negotiate on advantageous terms with Russia. But what if the Ukrainians are unable to drive out the Russian forces? Our allies, among them France and Germany, unlike the United States, are talking to both Russia and China in the hope of beginning peace talks.
Second, will Americans give informed consent to a new Cold War by Biden and Congress, not only with a nuclear-armed Russia, but also with a nuclear-armed China. The United States sees the latter as the major challenger to what it calls the “rules-based international order.”
Once again, and in contrast to our Western allies, Biden has refused to hold high-level diplomatic talks with China about deteriorating relations. Even if China has taken provocative actions, is it a wise strategy to build up military alliances with South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, Guam and Australia, carry out war games in the region, and provoke Beijing over the One China principle? The U.S. currently has a “grand noose” surrounding China with its 400 military bases.
The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, not surprisingly, recently moved its doomsday clock to 90 seconds to midnight. One reason cited was the increased threat of nuclear war.
Howard Elterman
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namrogm
Howard, I say “Live free or die.” And I also believe we Americans have to support our allies and make sure they stay free from attacks by Russia and China. If that means we risk nuclear war to protect Japan, Taiwan, the Balkans, and Ukraine, so be it. Even at my advanced age, I would volunteer to help. This action would be honorable, unlike the war that I fought in - the political game in Vietnam.
Wednesday, April 19, 2023 Report this
Admin
If namrogm is not Michael Gorman, he sure thinks like him. I will answer this under my own email, which has my name. Namrogm writes as if the U.S. is an innocent party in Ukraine. Wrong. The U.S. supported the 2014 Ukraine coup against democratically elected President Viktor Yanukuvych. Despite what the mainstream media falsely reported, it was a coup. The vote of Parliament came after the coup. When the Donbas, who supported Yanukuvych, rebelled and tried to secede, the U.S. supported Ukraine's fight against them. When Crimea was attacked by Ukraine nationalists, Russian troops already stationed there fought back. Russia then annexed Crimea, which until Khrushchev had given it to Ukraine, was part of Russia and still had a predominately Russian population. Obama denounced this in addition to supporting Ukraine's fight about the Donbas. When Putin attempted to discuss this with Obama at an international meeting, Obama repeatedly turned his back on him and walked away. This I saw on TV. When Putin wanted to talk to Biden about assurances that Ukraine would not join NATO and also negotiate an end to the Donbas fighting, Biden refused.
Friday, April 21, 2023 Report this