Letters to the editor March 8

This is not our fight

Congressman Matt Rosendale is correct with his no vote on giving a blank check to the Pentagon, CIA and State Department to play in the Russo-Ukraine war. The emotion of seeing the suffering of those in Ukraine is heart wrenching. But I am old enough to remember when we went to Iraq on false pretenses and emotion.

This Ukrainian Civil War got a jump start in 2014 when Russian backed separatists from Donbas and Luhansk declared independence. The internal battle was hyper-charged when President Trump increased lethal aid to the Ukrainians in 2017. The evolution of this conflict is boiling into a massive World War that will the cost of Iraq look like 2018 gas prices. Ironically, we are bankrolling Russia’s Army at the moment with 2022 gas prices to the tune of $2.2bn a month.

This is not our fight. Congressman Rosendale is correct. America has other issues she needs to focus on at home. Let’s spend our resources and tax revenue on homelessness, education, crime, and infrastructure. Stay out of the Ukrainian Civil War that has already evolved into a Russo-Ukraine War. Just say no to World War III.

— Jason Rifkin, Missoula