Letter to the Editor / PUTIN’S WAR CRIMES – & ATTACKS ON OUR DEMOCRACY
Roger C. Kostmayer
Russian dictator Putin (who invaded Ukraine and shot down a civilian passenger plane) is now hacking into American emails in an attempt to get Trump elected and poisoning America’s greatest strength – democracy. He’s betting that in the midst of a divisive national election and a change of US leaders in January, the US is politically unable to stop him from doing almost anything he wants for at least the next 4 or 5 months. This means Putin and President Assad bomb hospitals, schools and aid convoys and starve Syrians to death with impunity. The civilized world can no longer wait for a perfect negotiated solution in Syria.
The antidote for this genocidal attempt to return Russia to a global power is US unity at home, on this one critical issue, and solidarity with our allies. The US and its allies are confronted by a clear, present and dangerous threat. Only by quickly reverting to traditional American foreign policy bipartisanship and confronting the threat can the Putin/ Assad gamble be defeated. Failure to do so will give a green light to every bad actor on the planet.
It’s difficult though possible for the US to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, but only if the President and Congressional leaders recognize the danger and take action that transcends partisanship. It’s significant that three out of four of the national candidates from the two major parties, and most experts, are in general agreement on ways to stop the humanitarian tragedy in Syria.
Roger C. Kostmayer
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