A wider look at acts of war and culpability

Malcolm Stretten’s letter in last week’s Advertiser (Viewpoint, September 1) is a great example of how western media successfully brainwashes readers, viewers and listeners.

He refers to Putin as a disgusting little psychopath.

If so, he joins a select band of western leaders, including Blair and Bush, with their illegal actions in Iraq.

Going back further, there’s a great documentary on PBS America (freeview) about the Vietnam war, and how Johnson was mostly responsible for the death of 2million Vietnamese and 58,000 US soldiers.

This was simply to get re-elected as president.

The US interference in an alphabet soup of other countries in Europe, Asia, Middle East and Latin America is well documented.

From Afghanistan to Zaire, interference in elections and even political assassinations are there for anyone to see; at least for anyone whose head is not buried in the sand.

Mr Stretten mentions planes shot down. Did he conveniently forget about Iran Air Flight 655 with 290 people on board shot down by the guided-missile cruiser USS Vincennes in 1988?

And the long list of US political assassination attempts Lumumba, Rafael Trujillo of the Dominican Republic, Vietnam’s Ngo Dinh Diem and, of course, Castro.

The energy and food cost nightmare is as much a consequence of western economic sanctions as deliberate malice by Putin.

While I abhor the death of innocent civilians and soldiers on both sides, we in the west must take a more balanced view, and labelling foreign leaders with pejoratives does not help.

What would help is a better understanding of both sides.

Unfortunately, with BBC and media propaganda, and the shutting off of TV and websites such as Russia Today, this is very difficult.

SAL PINTO Pinkneys Road

Maidenhead