Lesson from Ukraine: ‘racism is a global scourge’
It is heartening to see the people of Poland and the rest of Europe welcoming refugees from Ukraine. That is how it should be.
More: Black and brown refugees are once again being turned away in Europe amid Ukraine migrant crisis
It is heartbreaking, however, to read reports that refugees of African and Asian nationalities from Ukraine are not welcome in Poland. Remember just last year when refugees from Syria and Afghanistan were met at the Poland-Belarus border with razor wire and armed guards and were forcibly turned back.
Racism is a global scourge.
Peter W. Jones, Worthington
Russia is definitely a nuclear threat
Guest columnist Randall Condra calls President Joe Biden “feeble” for not having rolled U.S. military forces into Ukraine while Russian troops were still at the Ukrainian border. “If the West had stood up to him,” Condra writes. “Putin would have backed down.”
More: ‘If you want it, take it’ and other dictator lessons Putin learned from Hitler | Opinion
Condra blows off the risk of Putin starting a a nuclear world war, insisting that Putin wouldn’t use nuclear weapons because “atomic bombs are scary” and “will destroy both sides.”
I have news for Condra: Russia owns over 4,500 nuclear warheads.
Vladimir Putin has already ordered his country’s tactical nuclear weapons into a state of high alert purportedly to be used in case of a Western attack on Russia, which Putin considers Ukraine to be a part of.
Condra appears to be the only person on the planet who believes that Putin’s nuclear threat is an empty bluff.
Patti Liszkay, Gahanna
‘Overly optimistic’ view reminiscent of past ‘armchair generals’
In thee guest column published on March 2, “If you want it, take it. Putin’s lessons from Hitler,” by Randall Condra, and “Botched diplomacy made war ‘inevitable'” by Christopher Gelpi, both men, but especially Condra, make some very questionable arguments about Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Russia.
More: Professor: We made Putin’s war with Ukraine ‘inevitable’
Condra said the U.S. should have responded with its own military exercises with Ukraine as soon as Russia began its build-up of military forces on Ukraine’s borders. But it is far from clear that would have deterred Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
He reminds me of “armchair generals” from 20 years ago who promoted overly optimistic predictions of what would happen after the overthrow of Iraq’s Saddam Hussein.
Some writers now offer such could have/ should have scenarios but no one can clearly relate the present to past actions. And in contrast to last year’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, President Joe Biden and his team have shown considerable skill in handling the Ukraine situation. I’m glad the president is getting advice from competent advisers.
Michael Hamill, Columbus
More: How to submit a letter to the editor for The Columbus Dispatch
‘Our lives no longer belong to us alone,’ they belong to people in need
Vladimir Putin’s statements are not to be taken lightly about Ukraine; he has a history of maintaining “the peace” by invasions and use of false pretexts.
The 2014 sanctions of Crimea have not deterred Putin.
He still controls this land, and his economy remained strong.
Many Russians follow their authoritarian leaders. In the Battle of Stalingrad for example, over one million Russian soldiers and civilians were lost defending their homeland from Nazi control in WWII. In his book “The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich,” William Shirer mentions that Stalin, an authoritarian leader, gave an order to his soldiers — “not one step back” —or they would face execution.
Elie Wiesel’s book “Night” describes life in an SS concentration camp during the Holocaust.
He witnessed the worst of the worst in human beings. He writes: “Sometimes we must interfere. When human lives are endangered, when human dignity is in jeopardy, national borders and sensitivities become irrelevant. Whenever men and women are persecuted because of their race, religion, or political views, that place must-at that moment-become the center of the universe…Our lives no longer belong to us alone; they belong to all those who desperately need us”.
Our administration needs to do more for the Ukrainian people; they are the center of the universe now. Waiting for sanctions to take hold is not an option for the people and cities being destroyed now.
Michael Bailey, Columbus
Biden shows ‘smarts’ in handling relations with Vladimir Putin
While some have praised Vladimir Putin for being “smart,” it’s Joe Biden who’s truly shown his smarts as he managed an incredibly complicated response to Putin. Biden didn’t inject his ego into the crisis, personalize the conflict, nor try to put himself at center stage. Instead, he’s been a true partner with our allies.
He hasn’t cajoled them into decisions. He wisely understood that achieving a united front was more important than any one aspect of the response. That wisdom bore fruit; after just four days, Europe reached the conclusion—on its own—that it would do everything America’s foreign policy establishment had asked.
More: Pentagon puts 8,500 troops on alert as Biden consults with European allies on Ukraine: What we know
Biden understood that these countries needed to come to the decision to fight back on their own, not be publicly pressured into it. As a result, NATO and the European Union are more united in their stance against Russian than ever.
The media and Republicans who were not Putin apologists were hounding Biden about sanctions that seemed to have been left unused after his first announcement. But, just a week later, the sanctions imposed by a united alliance far exceed anyone’s expectations. Let’s be thankful that Joe Biden is our President in this perilous time.
Susan Gallagher, Akron
Tax credits will help provide affordable housing, spur further development
The Ohio Department of Development recently announced that projects in Franklinton, Columbus, Newark and Delaware were awarded transformational mixed-use development tax credits.
These tax credits will facilitate development that includes combinations of retail and office space, residential units, recreation amenities, parking and other uses in a single location.
More: Five Columbus-area developments get state tax breaks
When introducing the bill funding these tax credits, Sen. Kirk Schuring (OH-29) said, “Senate Bill 39 serves as a catalyst to foster exponential economic growth in Ohio’s downtowns and help to transform them into magnets where businesses will want to locate and people will want to live.”
We agree.
We applaud the state legislature for passing the legislation, and thank Gov. Mike DeWine and his administration for facilitating the process. These projects not only provide needed affordable housing and investment in outlying and underserved communities; they will also drive economic activity at surrounding businesses, increase adjacent land values, and encourage further development.
More: Jobs hub, affordable housing in plans for long-vacant Schottenstein’s store site
As Columbus region leaders plan for the future, it is imperative that we consider where developments like these will have the greatest impact, and that we prioritize communities that have experienced historic disinvestment.
The Columbus Partnership will continue to strongly advocate for transformational mixed-use development opportunities that spur future growth and investment. The projects announced last week should be the first of many that positively transform communities across our region.
Kenny McDonald, President and CEO, Columbus Partnership
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Letters: African, Asian refugees from Ukraine face racism in Poland
