War not justified
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To the Editor:
Friday, the Kremlin suggested a change in strategy in their war in Ukraine by announcing Russia was focusing on the “liberation” of the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, where Russian backed rebels have partially controlled since 2014.
Using words like liberation, is an attempt to justify a war of aggression against a peaceful neighbor. Even though this might give talking points to “useful idiots” desperate to justify Putin’s actions, history is full of examples of tyrants like Stalin and Hitler using liberation to justify their conquests.
In 1944-1945, the Red Army drove across Eastern Europe in their fight against Nazi Germany. In August of 1944, they reached the outskirts of Warsaw. A resistance movement, the Polish Home Army, was prepared to act in concert with the Russians to liberate the city of Warsaw.
The Germans put up a fierce resistance but on orders from Stalin the Red Army set back and allowed the Home Army to be slaughtered. Stalin calculated it would be easier to install a puppet government in Poland if the anti-communist forces were eliminated.
The Red Army then went on to “liberate” Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Rumania, Yugoslavia, Albania, East Germany, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
All of these countries fell under Soviet control.
A coup d’état in Czechoslovakia in 1948 was a wakeup call. The western allies responded with the Marshall Plan and NATO.
Fast forward to 2022, Putin’s brutal war goes on with the peace and security of the entire planet in danger.
At least three million people have been displaced, thousands of Mariupol civilians have been forcibly taken to Russian camps, and the UN has confirmed 977 civilian deaths as of March 22.
Biden has been criticized for his remarks Saturday, “For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power.” Think about it, who in their right mind thinks that having Vladmir Putin responsible for the peace and security of the world is a good idea? History has shown that peace and freedom mean nothing to dictators like Hitler, Stalin and Putin.
Mary Kathryn
Gepner
Benton