The Edmond Sun

Opinion

September 6, 2008

U.S. aid to Georgia in question

To the Editor:

Does everyone realize that Georgia is an agricultural country? They grow their own food. Russia’s incursion into Georgia destroyed no crops. The U.S. had the Georgian military training and ran two weeks of war games on the South Ossetia border named Immediate Response ending July 30. Russia did nothing until six days later after Georgian troops fired on Russian peacekeepers at a border station. How strong would the U.S. response have been if the positions were reversed?

The U.S. delivers humanitarian aid all across the world. The fastest, cheapest most efficient way to deliver humanitarian aid is by airplane. The most aggressive, threatening and menacing way is by warship or destroyer. The very names belies the word humanitarian besides being the most costly and least efficient way to deliver goods. It is not even efficient to deliver weapons by warships yet they have sent the third warship to Georgia via the Black Sea, which Russia borders.

Sen. John McCain made a statement “Elect me and never again will our young men and women be sent to war for oil.” It seems the Bush-Cheney Administration does not share those feelings but if war is started, McCain has stated he will not stop until we are victorious. Nothing was said about right or wrong.

The path to peace is not by arming and supplying military weapons and training but by responsible negotiations, but it sure does make a lot of companies wealthy.

Sept. 2 Turkmenistan announced signing a natural gas pipeline deal with Russia to be routed through Russia the shortest route to the European market which Western oil companies were trying to get and lay an underwater pipeline across the Caspian Sea, which would be much more expensive and longer but would bypass Russia through Georgia to the European market. Sept. 3 the $1 billion aid package to Georgia was announced by the Bush-Cheney Administration.

Does anyone find it strange that Dick Cheney is visiting countries that border Russia? Isn’t Russia also a budding Democracy? It used to be fighting communism now Communist China is our largest trading partner, then the axis of evil and now Russia’s empire building. The countries bordering Russia were not having major problems with Russia until this administration started interfering for them. It looks like corporate America is the one wanting world domination.

I am not a war strategist or a greedy oil company but an American who is sick of this administration.

How do these actions help average Americans? Do you feel safer? I know I don’t! I do want the right changes for Americans and a true path to world peace.

Bill West

Edmond

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