Open Letter to Congressman Dustin “Dusty” Johnson

Ron Wieczorek

tu8Spo1n77351c85lao4lfh  · Mitchell RepublicTo the Editor:

Open Letter to Congressman Dustin “Dusty” JohnsonFebruary 15, 2022

Several friends have provided me copies of a form letter supposedly signed by you in response to their contacting your office regarding releasing $9.5 billion to the Afghanistan central bank, to re-establish sovereignty and rebuild that country. More people are dying there from U.S. sanctions than during 20 years of war. South Dakotans shouldered you with the responsibility to shepherd this nation along a pathway to prosperity at home and peace abroad. I’m afraid you are letting us down in both regards, with potentially catastrophic consequences.Let’s take a look at two egregious statements in “your” letter.“Russia is not our friend.” On the contrary, Russia has, historically, been our friend. During our Civil War, Russia supported the Union, sending warships to our Eastern Coast to keep Great Britain from interfering on behalf of the Confederacy. Russia sold us Alaska, a very good deal for us. With FDR’s help, The Soviet Union won World War II against the German Nazi regime, the Red Army killing more Wehrmacht soldiers than any other army, including the U.S., while suffering more deaths that any other country, including the U.S. The Soviet Union agreed not to oppose the reunification of Germany, relying on promises made by James Baker III that NATO would not advance even an inch East. The U.S. broke that promise, NATO has since then advanced toward Russia over 1,000 miles, and is now toying with the suicidal idea of admitting Ukraine and Georgia, both on Russia’s western border, where missiles there would put Moscow within a an unacceptable 5-minutes-after-launch situation.“Russian aggression.” What aggression? President Putin has delivered to President Biden a proposed Treaty to sign, and to Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary General a proposed Agreement to sign that specifies mutual security guarantees for Europe. That’s not aggression; that’s sanity. Have you read them? The U.S. and NATO are refusing to sign. That’s insane.Do you really want to go to war with Russia, and risk the possible thermonuclear extermination the human race? Russia clearly does not want to go to war with the U.S. and NATO.Ron WieczorekMount Vernon