A4 BAKER CITY HERALD • TUESDAY, MARCH 1, 2022
BAKER CITY
Opinion
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Baker City, Oregon
EDITORIAL
Stepping back
from the brink
R
ussia’s invasion of Ukraine is troubling, to be
sure. Russian president Vladimir Putin’s unwar-
ranted, brutal aggression destabilizes not only
Europe, but the world.
Yet some of the reactions by commentators, both in
print and on TV and radio, have been a bit hysterical.
References to Russia’s invasion being the possible pre-
cursor to “World War III,” for instance, have been nu-
merous.
This implies that the circumstances today are compa-
rable to the situations at the onset of the first and sec-
ond world wars. This is not convincing. Worse, it fright-
ens people unnecessarily.
One prominent reason the First World War broke out
a month after the June 28, 1914, assassination of Arch-
duke Franz Ferdinand of the Austro-Hungarian Em-
pire is the series of rigid alliances among world powers
including Germany, Russia, England and France. But
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine hasn’t, and needn’t, trigger
anything like the responses that followed Germany’s
invasion of Belgium in August 1914. In addition, the
comparatively crude nature of early 20th century armies
— which relied far more on the horse than on the truck
(tanks were unknown and airplanes all but irrelevant)
— meant that those armies needed days or even weeks
to get ready for combat. This reality prompted govern-
ments to order mobilizations lest they give their oppo-
nents an advantage. The result was an inexorable pro-
gression toward a wider war, a domino-like situation
that has no parallel among modern militaries.
Nor does a comparison hold between Putin’s actions
and the onset of World War II. Although there might
seem to be a superficial similarity in Putin’s past ag-
gression in Georgia and the Crimea, and Hitler’s ex-
pansionist policies in the 1930s, Hitler did not have the
then-unimaginable deterrent of America’s nuclear ca-
pacity to counter his megalomania.
Yet a recent analysis by John Daniszewski of The
Associated Press referred to “a nightmarish outcome
in which Putin’s ambitions in Ukraine could lead to a
nuclear war through accident or miscalculation” and
“the disturbing possibility that the current fighting in
Ukraine might eventually veer into an atomic confron-
tation between Russia and the United States.”
It’s certainly a disturbing vision.
But it’s hardly a new one. Moreover, it strains credu-
lity to believe that the invasion of Ukraine poses a more
grave threat of a nuclear confrontation than Cold War
episodes such as the Berlin Airlift in 1948, the construc-
tion of the Berlin Wall in 1961, the Cuban Missile Crisis
of 1962 and the wars in Korea and Vietnam.
Daniszewski references the doctrine of MAD — Mu-
tual Assured Destruction. That’s the idea, ugly though
it surely is, that the number of nuclear warheads is so
great that any large-scale exchange of such weapons
would prove so devastating to both sides — the U.S. and
the Soviet Union, during the Cold War — that neither
side, no matter the circumstances or the provocation,
would ever initiate such a war.
Daniszewski then writes that “amazingly, no country
has used nuclear weapons since 1945.”
But that’s not amazing at all. It shows only that polit-
ical leaders, despite often acting irrationally, including
starting or escalating conventional wars, have consis-
tently recognized the singular threat that a full-scale
nuclear exchange represents and refused, for nearly 77
years, to take that irreversible step.
Putin did, in his address prior to Russia’s invasion on
Feb. 24, state that “today’s Russia remains one of the
most powerful nuclear states.”
But that sort of saber-rattling is hardly surprising
given not only Putin’s record, but those of his prede-
cessors in the USSR. When Nikita Khrushchev said in
1956 that “we will bury you” his remark, although mis-
understood as a physical threat to the West rather than
a claim that communism would triumph over capital-
ism, did not, to use Daniszewski’s words, “veer into an
atomic confrontation.”
It is of course reasonable to consider the possible
wider implications of Putin’s bellicosity. But hyberbolic
allusions to 1914 and 1939 not only ignore how dramat-
ically the world has changed, but also that much larger
conflicts than what’s happening in Ukraine — the afore-
mentioned wars in Korea and Vietnam — didn’t lead to
another world war, much less a nuclear exchange.
— Jayson Jacoby, Baker City Herald editor
OTHER VIEWS
U.S. can still punish Russia for invasion
Editorial from The Los Angeles Times:
The most conspicuous victims of Rus-
sia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine are
the people who will lose their lives in
defending their country against a bru-
tal (and nuclear-armed) neighbor. But
Vladimir Putin’s decision to launch a ma-
ny-pronged attack — an audacious oper-
ation the United States predicted but was
unable to prevent — is also a devastating
assault on international norms and po-
tentially a harbinger of a wider war in
Europe.
Last week’s attack fully justifies the sig-
nificant sanctions the U.S. and its allies
are moving to impose on Russia. Sadly,
it’s not clear whether these measures will
cause Russia to relent in its aggression
against Ukraine. They may, however, put
Putin on notice that Russia’s economy,
and its “corrupt billionaires,” will pay a
heavy price for this act of aggression —
and an even steeper cost if Russia were to
menace a member state of NATO.
On Feb. 22, President Joe Biden in-
dicated that sanctions would be ratch-
eted up to match Russian escalation in
Ukraine. On Feb. 24, he made good on
that commitment, unveiling new sanc-
tions that would impose real hardships
on Russia and members of its ruling
elite — but not on Putin directly, though
Biden said that is still an option. Russian
banks and companies would be cut off
from access to the U.S. financial system
and restrictions will be imposed on the
export of U.S.-made technologies to Rus-
sia.
Regrettably, the measures did not in-
clude a move to exclude Russia from par-
ticipation in the Society for Worldwide
Interbank Financial Telecommunication,
or SWIFT: a consortium whose secure
network enables financial institutions to
complete transactions by their customers.
Biden said in a speech Feb. 24 that tar-
geting Russian participation in SWIFT
“is always an option, but right now that’s
not the position that the rest of Europe
wishes to take.” The president suggested
that the other sanctions he unveiled were
“of equal consequence — maybe more
consequence than SWIFT.”
The sanctions were designed to “max-
imize the long-term impact on Russia,”
Biden said, noting that the measures
would “strike a blow to their ability to
continue to modernize their military”
and “be a major hit to Putin’s long-term
strategic ambitions.”
We can hope, as Biden surely does, that
by punishing Russia economically the
U.S. and its allies can pressure Putin into
cutting short his war in Ukraine. But Pu-
tin knew an invasion would likely result
in such sanctions, and he attacked any-
way. (Indeed, in a rambling, bitter speech
on Monday the Russian president de-
scribed the sanctions as “blackmail” and
said their only purpose was to “restrain
the development of Russia.”)
But Biden was thinking not only about
Ukraine when he said Thursday that new
sanctions would rein in “Putin’s long-
term strategic ambitions.” The president
stressed that “we’re also taking steps to
defend our NATO allies, particularly in
the east.”
It would be ironic if Russian aggres-
sion against Ukraine, supposedly moti-
vated by a fear that Kyiv might someday
join NATO, resulted in greater solidarity
among the countries that already are part
of the alliance.
Feds’ free COVID-19 tests were too late
Editorial from The New York Daily News:
On Jan. 18, the day the federal gov-
ernment’s website allowing Ameri-
cans to order free at-home COVID
tests opened (one day before its official
launch, and the only time anything in
this story happens ahead of schedule),
we requested ours. At 1:44 p.m. came
the U.S.P.S. order confirmation email,
which added: “At home COVID-19 tests
will ship free starting in late January.”
Our bubble-wrap envelope arrived
Wednesday, one day after it was mailed
from Jersey City. That’s 36 calendar
days and 24 workdays later. Or, mea-
sured in pandemic time, eternity.
It was Dec. 21 when President Joe
Biden, warning about the omicron hill
we had to climb, first announced the
feds would be mailing out 500 million
free at-home tests. On that day, the U.S.
registered 194,000 new COVID cases.
About three weeks later, on Jan. 14 —
a day with 933,000 new cases — the
president said the tests were coming
soon. In a fact sheet that day, the White
House said “tests will typically ship
within 7-12 days of ordering” (clarify-
ing those “typical shipment times,” a
senior administration official said “we
hope that those and we anticipate those
will shorten as we ramp up this pro-
gram”). By the day our two little boxes
arrived, there were 84,000 positive
COVID tests nationwide; the omicron
surge was in the rearview.
YOUR VIEWS
Biden administation has wasted
previous progress
Editor’s Note: This is the letter the writer
sent to President Joe Biden.
Dear Mr. Sock Puppet:
Well, you and your boss, Obama
have really got us in a mess and now,
one outcome has hit the Ukraine.
What feckless move will you make
next? We all know you for what you
are. What is surprising is that so many
in your administration go along with
your criminal acts. In your first day
in office you wiped out all of Pres.
Trump’s good works. That was stupid.
If you had left everything in place you
could have taken credit for the con-
tinuing prosperity. Obama was right
when he said, “Everything Joe does he
gets wrong.” You should be ashamed.
Only the dull-witted will be sur-
prised at this news. You can bet
Hunter Biden won’t be called up if our
young men are sent to battle. Worst,
China is already planning to dance on
Taiwan’s graves. Do we think South
Korea will escape?
The day O’Biden took office Amer-
ica was stronger and more unified than
any time since the end of WWII. It is
official, we are a nation betrayed! Stand
ready for events to come. Gas prices
are up. Food shortages are in evidence.
Crime is sweeping our cities.
Here, in Baker City, things are peace-
ful enough. Still, when I leave the house
I carry the most potent handgun suit-
able to my attire. Usually something
They say success has many fathers
while failure is an orphan. In this case,
either the test producers just weren’t
able to churn them out in the numbers
Biden promised — even though that
same senior administration official
boasted that “starting as early as last
February, the administration has used
the Defense Production Act, indus-
trial mobilization, as well as $3 billion
in advance purchase commitments to
ramp up supply of testing, including
at-home rapid tests.” Or maybe the kits
were bought but sat in warehouses too
long before getting sorted to their des-
tination.
We don’t know who botched this, but
we do know where the buck stops.
CONTACT YOUR PUBLIC
OFFICIALS
in .45 ACP. I don’t want to use it but I
want to hit as hard as I can if it becomes
necessary. I have been down this road
in the past and made my peace with the
realities of life as we find it, not as we
wish it were.
If you carry, remember it is not for
show or intimidation. Be circumspect.
When it may be necessary to draw,
keep it from view. The line between
“Shoot, don’t shoot” is razor thin. Be
neither agitated nor emotional. Be fo-
cused but avoid tunnel-vision. Shoot
center of mass when forced to it by the
actions (not words) of your assailant.
Say only, “I shot to make him stop.”
If you take the shot, once the event is
over, holster your fire arm and/or to-
tally comply when law enforcement
arrives. Make no moves other than
as directed. Remember, they will be
wound pretty tight and likely have you
in their sights. All they know is there
was a shooting and YOU are vertical.
Say nothing other than “I will com-
ply” with your hands in plain view.
DO NOT reach for your weapon!
A wounded police officer, a stabbing
victim, was killed by a responding
deputy because he had his gun in his
hand. Life can be dangerous. Thinking
ahead is always a worthwhile exercise.
Sort of like defensive driving — “what
do I do if this car approaching crosses
the center line?” That sort of thinking
saved me from harm many times over
the years. You don’t get to be old by
being thoughtless.
Rick Rienks
Baker City
President Joe Biden: The White House, 1600
Pennsylvania Ave., Washington, D.C. 20500; 202-456-
1111; to send comments, go to www.whitehouse.gov.
U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley: D.C. office: 313 Hart Senate
Office Building, U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C., 20510;
202-224-3753; fax 202-228-3997. Portland office: One
World Trade Center, 121 S.W. Salmon St. Suite 1250,
Portland, OR 97204; 503-326-3386; fax 503-326-2900.
Baker City office, 1705 Main St., Suite 504, 541-278-
1129; merkley.senate.gov.
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden: D.C. office: 221 Dirksen Senate
Office Building, Washington, D.C., 20510; 202-224-
5244; fax 202-228-2717. La Grande office: 105 Fir St.,
No. 210, La Grande, OR 97850; 541-962-7691; fax, 541-
963-0885; wyden.senate.gov.
U.S. Rep. Cliff Bentz (2nd District): D.C. office: 1239
Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C.,
20515, 202-225-6730; fax 202-225-5774. Medford
office: 14 N. Central Avenue Suite 112, Medford, OR
97850; Phone: 541-776-4646; fax: 541-779-0204;
Ontario office: 2430 S.W. Fourth Ave., No. 2, Ontario,
OR 97914; Phone: 541-709-2040. bentz.house.gov.
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown: 254 State Capitol, Salem,
OR 97310; 503-378-3111; www.governor.oregon.gov.
Oregon State Treasurer Tobias Read: oregon.
treasurer@ost.state.or.us; 350 Winter St. NE, Suite 100,
Salem OR 97301-3896; 503-378-4000.
Oregon Attorney General Ellen F. Rosenblum:
Justice Building, Salem, OR 97301-4096; 503-378-4400.
Oregon Legislature: Legislative documents and
information are available online at www.leg.state.or.us.
State Sen. Lynn Findley (R-Ontario): Salem office:
900 Court St. N.E., S-403, Salem, OR 97301; 503-986-
1730. Email: Sen.LynnFindley@oregonlegislature.gov
State Rep. Mark Owens (R-Crane): Salem office: 900
Court St. N.E., H-475, Salem, OR 97301; 503-986-1460.
Email: Rep.MarkOwens@oregonlegislature.gov
Baker City Hall: 1655 First Street, P.O. Box 650, Baker
City, OR 97814; 541-523-6541; fax 541-524-2049. City
Council meets the second and fourth Tuesdays at 7
p.m. in Council Chambers. Councilors Jason Spriet,
Kerry McQuisten, Shane Alderson, Joanna Dixon,
Johnny Waggoner Sr. and Dean Guyer.