To the Editor:
The war in Ukraine rages on, and the war mentality, fueled by the all-powerful military industrial complex war profiteers, keep it going, and escalate it. The bodies pile up. War crimes shock us. Millions more become refugees.
This horror should end as soon as possible. But John Herbst, former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, said it could take six years or more.
Hillary Clinton, former Secretary of State, predicted the war in Ukraine could look like the long-term insurgency in Afghanistan following the Soviet invasion there-an invasion many think the U.S. secretly supported to weaken the Soviet Union.
Now Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, says the U.S. wants to see Russia weakened. Austin was on the Board of Raytheon Technologies and awarded $2.5 million in total compensation. Meanwhile, the Raytheon CEO, Greg Hayes, tells how his shareholders will benefit from the tensions in Eastern Europe.
We’re told that this war in Ukraine is about freedom and standing up to autocracy. We’re not told about the profiteering by military arms contractors in the U.S.
Now nuclear-armed countries talk of using tactical nuclear weapons, so the risk of nuclear apocalypse grows.
We’re told we have no choice. War, death, and environmental destruction must continue. The way to peace is continued war. These lies are being told to justify another war.
A cease-fire, a negotiated settlement, an end to the sanctions, reparation payments, and assurances of security for Ukraine, and the areas of Crimea and Donbas, and other eastern European countries, and Russia are needed.
Al Mytty
Coordinator, World Beyond War-Central Florida
Village of Poinciana