Letter from Ashok Malhotra

Writer Appeals to President Biden

It is sad for all of us because the war in Ukraine is dragging on into the second year. You may ask: “What has Russia accomplished in one year and at what price?” The same question can be asked of Ukraine? The answer is disturbing, because more than 200,000 young soldiers from Ukraine and Russia have lost their lives; more than 100 ancient monuments and 1,000 buildings have been destroyed, and 5-6 million Ukrainian citizens who have been made refugees had to leave their beloved country.

You should also ask: “Who is footing the bill of more than $60 billion of U.S. aid and weapons sent to Ukraine for this war of destruction, bringing more misery than happiness?” Of course, the U.S. taxpayer is paying for it through inflated prices at the grocery stores, higher rents and higher mortgage rates, while making more people homeless. Now, to add fuel to fire, the U.S., Germany and Poland are sending more than 100 modern tanks to continue this war of destruction which is bleeding the U.S. economy!

The politicians whom we elected should represent us by providing shelter and food to help the poor rather than making more people go hungry and freezing in the streets. Who is becoming rich during this war? Of course it’s the industrial giants that make these weapons. Let’s be wise by using all our diplomatic resources to persuade China, India, and South Africa to influence Putin to send his diplomats to sit across from the diplomats of Ukraine, Germany, Poland, and the U.S. They should offer a compromise to stop this destructive war which is accomplishing nothing more than misery for the ordinary citizens. What a waste of precious resources!

Are not we in the West proudly presenting ourselves to the world that we are an enlightened people who are driven by reasoning and not just by passion and egoism? Remember the downfall of President Lyndon B Johnson, which was his involvement in the futile Vietnam War that wiped out the memory of his accomplishments of passing the Civil Right Legislation, creating the Great Society dream and the much needed Head Start program.

President Biden, please stop this madness of war by sending Blinken, Kerry and other diplomats to negotiate a binding settlement with Putin. Because all of us want to remember you as a president who tackled the pandemic of COVID-19 boldly by saving millions of lives, wisely pulling out of Afghanistan, saving trillions of dollars to be used for building roads and bridges, and much more. The decision is yours! Be wise and give diplomacy a real chance!

Ashok Malhotra
Oneonta