While there have been some pretty dumb letters to the editor over the course of publishing history, I think this dude takes the cake...or at least comes pretty close to doing so.
Sir, As a former US Army Reserve officer who witnessed the Cuban missile crisis, I find it abhorrent that George W. Bush presses vigorously for Nato membership of two countries bordering Russia. Compounding his lack of depth is his proposal to install missile defence systems in east European countries. The Cuban crisis was as close to global nuclear war as anything I have seen. We were ready to drop bombs. A war was averted because clear minds prevailed.Now, let us imagine how the Russians feel when their “spheres of influence” spanning centuries are threatened. The Soviet Union lost millions of citizens during the second world war, and we Americans had little or no comprehension of that horror. We were separated from much of the world's anguish by thousands of miles of ocean. But Russians recoil today as they see their borders menaced.
In the name of democracy, Mr Bush is exporting his brand of governance to many regions, including the Middle East and the former Soviet Union. It may be a laudable goal to some observers, but we know the results and the consequences. It is time for clear minds to prevail.
William Sprecher,
Fairfax, VA 22033, US
{my emphasis}
Poor widdle Wussia.
By this guy's reasoning, any eastern European country should be left to the whims of Russia, because---ahem---we've failed to understand how badly the Russians suffered during Hitler's eastern campaign in WWII. The Russians are only acting belligerently because they're scared that NATO's going to invade, just like Hitler did when he reneged on the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. Never mind the Cold War, even though he prominently references it; it apparently never happened. Heck, the Cuban Missile Crisis was probably our fault for daring to dream that there---ahem---shouldn't be Russian nuclear missiles ninety-miles off our coast! Bad America! We failed to understand how damaging Stalingrad had been to the Russian psyche, so we deserved to be blown to bits!
One wonders how hard Putin laughed after he read this.
Posted by Kathy at April 4, 2008 10:15 AM | TrackBackRussia lost millions during WW2? Yeah, but a good chunk of the Russian dead were killed by....the Russian army & Stalin's secret police. Don't forget the forced famines in the Ukrane during the 30's, where Stalin caused millions to die of starvation.
Posted by: Russ from Winterset at April 4, 2008 01:23 PMI guess how the Poles and Czechs and Ukrainians and Georgians feel doesn't matter, despite having also lost lives and freedom under the Red boot?
(For that matter I don't think "Russians" in general are real worried about anti-missile systems in Eastern Europe. Since an anti-missile system is, unlike the Red Army, useless for offensive action.)
Posted by: Sigivald at April 4, 2008 05:20 PM