Writing congress to stop the wars

 Dear Congressman Bera,

Your own foreign policy statement says you are supporting Ukraine to thwart "Vladimir Putin’s unprovoked and illegal invasion." You are missing the boat on this. John Mearsheimer's account of the history leading up to the "Special Military Operation" (here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrMiSQAGOS4) lays out the generations-long provocations of Russia in excruciating detail. Portraying the US as some "innocent victim" simply doesn't pass the sniff test.

Another indicator of US aggression is its military budget. It's ten times larger than the Russian military budget.

Unfortunately, this aligns perfectly with the genocidal conquest of the North American continent at the origin of our country--diseases and wars annihilated 90% of the native populations.

And the US has repeatedly continued to be the aggressor overseas. Between 1798 and 1994 the US is responsible for 41 changes of government south of its borders, creating a constant stream of political and military refugees. 

The economic attacks create even more refugees. In the wake of NAFTA, shipping lots of subsidized Iowa corn to Mexico led to a 34% decline in Mexican real, median income--a figure not seen in the US since the Great Depression.

Since World War II, there are just over 250 acts of military aggression worldwide. The US is responsible for 81% of those.

So you may tout "safety" or "leadership" as your reasons to support this glut of military imperialism from the US, but the US is increasingly isolated because of the depredations of its military.

It's well past time to stop this. Congress can de-fund the wars and sue for peace. Putin has repeatedly sought peace in Minsk and Istanbul, but the US has sabotaged those agreements.

The public wants peace, not some mealy-mouthed excuse for sending cluster munitions to bomb Gaza. Let's have our congressman implement the public's wishes.

--Your constituent