LETTERS: DISREGARD FOR HISTORY

To the editor:

I would like to know what planet Donn Miller has been living on the past few years. His interpretation of the current situation in Afghanistan shows a complete disregard for history and a strange interpretation of what the goals of communism were in the post-World War II era. I must agree that the situation in Afghanistan is a sad one with the country being torn apart by civil war and a dangerous form of the Islamic religion in power in most of the country. However, I take exception to Mr. Miller placing the blame for the situation on "anti-Community nitwits."

The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 was a simple land grab by the Russian Communists. They proceeded to install a pro-Communist puppet government on the Afghani people. To call that regime "an enlightened government: is complete distortion of the facts. Mr. Miller's view is that the goals of the Soviets were simply to "foster and protect progressive forces there." The reaction of the United States at the time was to help supply Afghani freedom fighters with the means to defeat an invading army, which, of course, is what they did. The blame for the current situation in Afghanistan should be placed squarely at the feet of the system that has enslaved millions of people around the world: communism.

The policy of containment against communism, which led to our nation's limited involvement in Afghanistan, was followed in various forms by every American president from Truman to Reagan. It eventually resulted in the fall of communism in nearly every country that was held by that insidious doctrine. Mr. Miller has a much more favorable memory of what communism and socialism were all about.

The self-stated goals of communism before and after World War II were to destroy democracy and capitalism. To now defend socialism and communism as simply a misunderstood political system that only wanted to do good is quite a stretch, except, of course, for the liberal mindset. It is quite ironic that at a time in which communism and socialism have been discredited in nearly every part of the world that we have people in this country with fond memories of those political and economic systems. It makes me wonder if they want to resurrect them here in our nation.

JOHN HELDERMAN

Whitewater