The Washington Post - USA (2021-11-22)

A20 EZ RE THE WASHINGTON POST.MONDAY, NOVEMBER 22 , 2021

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

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W

HAT BEGAN as a hopeful at-

tempt to vaccinate the poorest

nations against the coronavi-

rus has struggled mightily. In

high-income and upper-middle-income

nations, 73 percent of eligible p eople have

gotten at l east one shot, w hile only 41 per-

cent have in lower-middle-income and a

paltry 5 percent have in low-income coun-

tries. The United States and other wealthy

nations should look in the mirror and

strive to keep this from happening next

time.

A quest for equitable and accelerated

vaccine distribution led to the creation of

the Covax facility, a joint effort of GAVI,

the Vaccine Alliance; the Coalition for

Epidemic P reparedness Innovations; and

the World Health O rganization, joined b y

UNICEF. An early target was to acquire

and distribute 2 billion doses by the end of

this year. As of now, 522 million doses

have been delivered to 144 countries,

most of it to the poorer nations. That’s

certainly millions of people helped, but it

has been slower than expected, and the

wait agonizing.

Why the lag? In t he face of a catastroph-

ic emergency, Covax began from zero —

no money, no people. Once vaccines were

developed and started being manufac-

tured, a mad scramble took place for

scarce supply. Wealthy c ountries, not sure

which v accine would work, o rdered quan-

tities far greater than their populations.

The U. S. government with Operation

Warp Speed made enormous invest-

ments, especially in mRNA vaccines, so

had reason to make first claim. Russia and

China, seeking influence, added to the

scramble, offering their own vaccines in a

spate of bilateral deals. By the time Covax

had raised money, it faced limited sup-

plies and tough negotiations with manu-

facturers. A lesson: In the future, some

kind of contingent funds, ready to go e arly

in a crisis, would be a huge head start.

Covax opted for the single-shot Astra-

Zeneca vaccine, in part because it did not

have to be kept at super-cold tempera-

tures, m aking it better suited for difficult

conditions, and was being sold at cost.

Covax was counting on the Serum Insti-

tute of India to produce millions of doses.

Then the delta variant exploded in India,

leading to a suspension o f exports, a huge

setback to Covax and the poorer nations.

Another lesson: A global network of sus-

tainable, quality vaccine manufacturing

facilities — and thus an assured source of

vaccines — is essential to fight a pandem-

ic. It d oes not yet exist. The Biden admin-

istration has just announced plans to

encourage a major boost in vaccine man-

ufacturing, a good idea that should have

been launched sooner.

Covax has had better luck obtaining

donations. Seth Berkley, chief executive

of GAVI, says a bit more than 1 billion

doses are now allocated to Covax. With-

out Covax, the situation would have been

far worse — imagine 195 nations jostling

for vaccine candidates in a free-for-all.

Still, the Covax experience has exposed

how the haves took care of themselves,

and the have nots have been forced to

wait. Absorbing the lessons of this pan-

demic should lead to a renewed effort to

prepare a rescue ship before the storm:

financing, factories and know-how

poised to go a t a moment’s n otice.

Spread the shots

A paltry 5 percent of eligible people in poor nations are vaccinated.

T

HE DISINFORMATION opera-

tions of a collective known as

Ghostwriter seemed to carry all

the hallmarks of a Russian cam-

paign — but, according to a new analysis,

the activities are attributable not to

Moscow but to Minsk. The revelation

makes confronting the authoritarian Be-

larusian leader, Alexander Lukashenko,

all the more imperative.

The European Union said earlier this

fall that some of its member states had

“associated” with Russia malicious ac-

tors known for sowing anti-NATO senti-

ment throughout Eastern Europe —

hacking news sites and government offi-

cials’ social media accounts to post and

spread fake stories and forged docu-

ments. Threat intelligence firm Mandi-

ant announced last week that the reality

is more complicated: While the research-

ers can’t rule out Russian contributions,

strong technical evidence links the group

to Belarus. The connection also fits with

a shift in Ghostwriter’s focus following

the disputed 2020 presidential election

in that nation: Targeted countries have

included Lithuania and Latvia, which

border Belarus, but exclude Estonia,

which does not — and narratives seeded

in Lithuania and Poland relate to specific

regional disputes. Targeted individuals

include Belarusian opposition members.

It has been clear from the start that

Mr. Lukashenko’s continued rule follow-

ing August 2020’s stolen victory is a

threat to the self-determination and

well-being of his country’s citizens. Now

it’s clear also that this threat extends

beyond Belarus to its neighbors; Ghost-

writer is prolific and effective. The Belar-

usian dictator is playing copycat to Rus-

sian President Vladimir Putin yet again,

and the environment their style of gov-

erning promotes is worse than lawless-

ness. It i nvolves the deliberate sheltering

of lawbreakers by those who are sup-

posed to uphold the law: Look, for

instance, at t he two accused ransomware

extortionists at the top of the United

States’ cybercriminal most wanted list,

living large — and openly — in Russia,

according to the BBC.

The United States shouldn’t let Belarus

mimic Mr. Putin’s w orst behaviors unchal-

lenged. The E.U. is on course to impose

new sanctions on the nation in response

to the migrant c risis at t he Lithuanian and

Polish borders; the White House is expect-

ed to join in. Those sanctions should be

prelude to further measures that weaken

the hold Mr. Lukashenko and his hench-

men have on a nation y earning for democ-

racy. His departure, with free and fair

elections to follow, would surely be better

for the people of Belarus. As events be-

yond that country’s bounds show every

day, it would be better for the rest of the

world, too.

The sincerest form of authoritarian flattery

Belarus is borrowing from Russia again — this time, with disinformation.

Prince Georgians who are not furious

haven’t b een paying attention. Six County

Council members have perpetrated a

world-class gerrymandering scam on the

county residents [“Prince George’s resi-

dents slam county redistricting plan as

gerrymandering,” Metro, Nov. 17].

Ignoring the result of the redistricting

commission’s months of work with input

from five public hearings and s upervision

from a Stanford law professor, and

thumbing their nose at f ive hours of angry

testimony by citizens, and pulling a sur-

prise other plan out of the hat, they have

redrawn the map with little jigs and jogs

that eliminate their strongest opponents.

If you care about voting rights and

integrity, show them the public has a

longer memory than t hey think when you

enter t he voting booth.

Mosi Harrington, Hyattsville

A gerrymandering scam

The Nov. 18 editorial “The ‘competi-

tion’ with China” expressed support for

President Biden’s recent virtual meeting

with Chinese leader Xi Jinping but

warned that Mr. Biden should “not take

the bait” in pursuing a broader thaw in

relations. To “ prevail” in this competition

with China, the United States “will need

to keep faith with its allies,” it concluded.

Clinging to an undefined fantasy —

“prevailing ”— o bscures the actual nature

of the challenge created by China’s rise

and serves to dangerously mislead the

American public. The United States

should stand firm on some questions,

such as Beijing’s u se of coercive tactics to

target dissidents beyond its borders, but

trying to outmuscle China in every do-

main until its national will effectively

breaks will end disastrously.

This is particularly true on military

issues: The only way to achieve long-term

peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific is

to slow down the region’s rapid militari-

zation, which some have said is turning it

into a “powder keg.” In other words, the

only truly relevant question is where and

how to bring about a long-term “thaw”

with China consistent with our values

and the security of our friends and allies.

All else is a self-indulgent distraction.

Ethan Paul, Washington

The writer is a research associate and

reporter for the Quincy Institute

f or Responsible Statecraft.

Regarding the Nov. 1 5 news article Thaw relations with China

“Republicans warn of payback after Ban-

non indictment”:

The Republican strategy to take over

local offices and departments, openly

acknowledged by former Tr ump adviser

Stephen K. Bannon, repeats a strategy

from the 1980s from which the Gingrich

class ultimately arose.

This time, though, it is abetted by

threats to the lives and careers of local

governmental public health officials and

their families and now members of

boards of education. Resignations, dis-

missals and disinterest in positions of

appointed and elected office by those

with the most open-minded and science-

based approach to their work are the

result. In the case of both local groups of

officials, it stems from their actions and

their communication with the public

they are charged to protect.

Failure t o defend b y word or deed these

and the next group of officials in other

important positions threatens the health,

livelihood and safety of communities na-

tionwide now a nd in the f uture.

Mr. Bannon and his colleagues, already

dismissive and gnawing at o ur democrat-

ic process, use this as a tactic to replace

those driven from office and to control

the local decision-making apparatus with

their ideological kin. The result: a next

generation of local, state and federal

hyperpartisans who will further damage

the nation’s a lready imperfect democracy.

Robert Pestronk, Chevy Chase

Gnawing at democracy

It was stunning to see the treatment of

Eric Clapton in the Nov. 14 Arts&Style

article “What happened to Eric Clapton?”

by his supposed lifelong friends. Isn’t

Mr. Clapton part of the generation that

preached “live and let live” and “never

trust the man”? Those artists and musi-

cians who w rote s ongs about g overnment

control and questioned all authority are

now nauseatingly trying to shame

Mr. Clapton i nto c onforming his beliefs to

theirs over vaccine mandates? More sick-

ening are their attempts to imply he’s

racist.

There is no room for individualism

with this crowd. That his friends would

sell out Mr. Clapton so easily in favor of

politicians and “the man” is the ultimate

betrayal. What a bunch of conformists

and h ypocrites.

Diana L. Banister, Falls Church

Say what you will

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FREDERICK J. RYAN JR., Publisher and Chief Executive Officer

ABCDE

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EDITORIALS

S

INCE MID-SEPTEMBER, the

United States has expelled more

than 8,500 Haitians to their na-

tive country aboard more than

80 deportation flights, dissuading other

Haitian migrants from attempting to

enter the country and helping drive

down a record surge in illegal border

crossings over the preceding 12 months.

No question, deterrence has worked —

for now. Whether it continues to work

depends partly on whether the Biden

administration sticks to what amounts

to a policy of complacency in the

hemisphere’s poorest country.

Tens of thousands of Haitians who

aspire to enter the United States are

bottled up in Mexico, some along the

border, others in a small town near the

Guatemalan frontier. In Haiti itself,

gripped by a spiraling economic, politi-

cal and security crisis, some are so

desperate that they are taking increas-

ingly risky routes to escape, including to

Puerto Rico.

U. S. officials who have visited the

Caribbean nation have delivered a mes-

sage that amounts to a shrug of the

shoulders, saying Haiti’s problems are

its own to address. That amounts to a

non-policy given the absence of legiti-

mate political authority and the impo-

tence of Haiti’s police, who are under-

staffed and outgunned by criminal

gangs and kidnapping rings, which

have paralyzed the country.

Of course, Haitians were not the only

drivers of the 1.7 million apprehensions

along the southwest border in the fiscal

year that ended Sept. 30, a record

number that included many repeat

crossers. Unauthorized migrants from

Central America and elsewhere were

also lured by the new administration’s

mixed signals, which combined official

pronouncements warning people not to

come with a relaxation in enforcement

that enabled tens of thousands of fami-

lies with children, among others, to

enter the country without papers.

Apprehensions at the border, which

reflect the number of illegal crossings,

peaked in July and August, when more

than 200,000 people were taken into

custody, and have since dropped by

roughly 20 percent, to about 164,

last month. The drop in the number of

Haitian migrants arrested was especial-

ly dramatic, after nearly 18,000 were

apprehended in September, many in

Del Rio, Tex., where thousands had

established a tent camp under an inter-

national bridge. Last month, just

902 Haitians were intercepted by bor-

der agents.

Haiti’s problems are tempting to ig-

nore, because they are thorny, and there

are few easy ways to grapple with them.

Unfortunately, their complexity, as well

as the reality that Haiti is a failed state,

does not suggest a static situation going

forward. Concern for the suffering of

Haiti’s people should be enough to

trigger U. S. assistance. But self-interest

also argues against the c urrent lethargy.

The country’s volatility has long

prompted migrants to seek a way out

and, in many cases, to find a route to

this country. That volatility is intensify-

ing amid a descent i nto lawlessness and

mayhem that is extreme even by Haiti’s

standards. The Biden administration

ignores it at its peril.

The border crisis is easing

But for how long?

REUTERS

U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent S ara Cabrera in Artesia, N.M., on Nov. 9.

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The Washington Post

1301 K St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20071 (202) 334-

rial’s Moscow office and tried to prevent

the showing of a film about the famine in

Soviet Ukraine that killed roughly 4 mil-

lion people in the 1930 s. They then held

everyone in the building for six hours,

forcing them to fill o ut o fficial forms.

This situation needs vigorous denunci-

ation, including from foreign govern-

ments. That might be the only way to

prevent the forced closure of an interna-

tionally renowned organization with a

stunning r ecord of achievement.

Peter Reddaway, McLean

T he writer is author of

“The Dissidents.”

Mark Kramer, C ambridge, Mass.

The w riter is director of C old War

S tudies a t Harvard U niversity.

Joshua Rubenstein, C ambridge, Mass.

The writer is an associate at t he Davis

Center f or Russian & Eurasian Studies at

Harvard University.

Benjamin Nathans, Philadelphia

The writer is an associate professor of

history at the University of Pennsylvania.

On Nov. 11, press outlets in Moscow

reported that R ussian Prosecutor General

Igor Krasnov had formally d emanded that

the Russian Supreme Court abolish the

International Memorial society, which

since 1989 has disclosed vast evidence

about atrocities and terror under Joseph

Stalin. It publicized violations of human

rights under Russian President Vladimir

Putin. T he first hearing will be o n Nov. 2 3.

Mr. Krasnov claims Memorial has sys-

tematically broken the laws about “for-

eign agents,” e.g., by not putting the label

“foreign agent” on its publications. His

demand for closure lists Memorial’s Hu-

man Rights Center, its archives, its

40, 00 0-book library and its museum. Ac-

cording to Alexander Cherkasov, the cen-

ter’s director, Memorial’s 7 4 regional

groups are n ot mentioned.

The document claims that Memorial

has received donations from abroad, con-

ducted political activity and “circulated

opinions about g overnmental decisions.”

Moscow lawyer Tatiana Glushkova and

other Russians rejected the whole case

against Memorial and made the impor-

tant point that its a ctions had n o victims.

On Oct. 14, several dozen unnamed

men with covered faces broke into Memo-

Another oppressive act

DRAWING BOARD ED HALL

B Y ED HALL

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