My unpublished letter to The Guardian and our local paper.

Why does it matter to us here what President Trump has been up to in Ukraine?

The $400 million aid that he is alleged to have made conditional on their publicising spurious investigative attention on a political rival was not cash but anti-tank weaponry. The country has its back to the wall due to Russian military invasion taking a third of its territory. When those massive tanks come at you and your loved ones you yell to a supposed friend and ally for help and do not expect sudden arbitrary delay and imposed conditions.

As “The National Interest”[1] website tells it:

“When Russia provided military support to separatists in Ukraine, columns of Russian tanks were instrumental in turning back Ukrainian Army offensives and seizing government strongpoints, notably the Donetsk International Airport in January 2015. For hawks like Senator John McCain pushing for the United States to provide direct military aid to Ukraine, Javelin missiles were cited as a key weapon system that might have reversed the Ukrainian Army’s fortunes on the battlefield—and one far more practical to put into action than a main battle tank or jet fighter.

The U.S.-made FGM-148 Javelin is one of the premier portable anti-tank missile systems in the world. It’s also an expensive piece of kit, with each missile typically costing more than the targets it eliminates.”

At $80,000 a throw it ain’t cheap, but by shooting up in the air to come down vertically on targets it sure works.

Can we really trust this man with trade deals invading our NHS?

Sincerely

Rod Read

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[1] https://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/the-us-militarys-tank-killer-missile-russia-fears-most-22542