U.S. Assistance for Russia
Recent articles in The Times have accurately represented the fragility of the democracy movement in Russia. This movement is being attacked by pro-communist and pro-fascist groups now united as the National Salvation Front. The Russian people are looking to the West, including the United States, for technical assistance, as well as food and medicine, which they urgently need. Recent aid proposals by Congress and the executive branch for a total of $829 million will perhaps help the dire situation in Russia, but they are inadequate.
The United States pumped large sums of money into West Germany and Japan after their defeat in World War II. It is certainly in the best interest of the United States to provide several billion dollars per year to the Russian people in terms of technical and humanitarian assistance if this will help them achieve a viable democracy and prevent an extremist regime from taking power. If the democracy movement is unseated, a hard-line Russian government far worse than anything seen in decades may appear, and thus cost the American taxpayers many tens of billions of dollars per year in terms of defense expenditures, etc.
The present U.S. aid strategy is certainly penny-wise and pound-foolish, and should be revamped immediately.
EDMUND H. CONROW
Redondo Beach
Conrow is serving as a technical adviser on a proposed United States-Russian joint venture project.
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