Nixon Urges Aid to Russia

In response to “Might We Lose Russia? Nixon Dares to Ask the Question,” editorial, March 13:

“Might we lose Russia?” A key to the solution of any problem (political or otherwise) lies in the questions one asks. There are a multitude of historical examples of the consequences of asking the wrong question.

For example, in 1775 Lord North might have said: “Might we lose the Colonies?” In 1918, Woodrow Wilson, et al. might have said: “Might we lose Russia?” And, in 1948, Nixon probably said: “We are losing China!” while John Paul Vann, in 1963, probably said, “We have lost Vietnam!”

In each of those historical cases, the results were not determined by the “we’s”; in the main, it was determined by the “they’s”--by the colonials who had become Americans to the Vietnamese people in the 1960s. It will be the Russian people who will decide the fate of Russia (as it will be Iraqi people who will decide the fate of Saddam Hussein).

If you rephrase the question to: “What might we (the West) do to help the reformers in Russia?” then we might devise an effective policy. At that point one could certainly agree that not enough has been done.

DAVID N. PICKERILL, San Diego