168 



They said they need these practical specialists to work directly with both the 

 government and private sector leaders to continue developing a private 

 agricultural system in Russia. 



I am a Wisconsin sheep farmer. I see a lot of similarity between Russia and a 

 baby lamb born in a January snowstorm in northern Wisconsin. If the shepherd 

 CHOOSES to go out in the cold to bring the newborn lamb inside, where it is 

 protected from the storm, dries it off, warms it up, gives it some life giving 

 colostrum, and then shows the lamb how to find its mother's milk, the lamb will 

 survive and grow and become a healthy productive member of the flock. If the 

 shepherd CHOOSES to stay in his warm house rationaUzing that he has other 

 things to worry about, and leaves the mother and natural consequences to take 

 care of the situation . . . there is a 90% chance the shepherd will find the lamb 

 dead in the morning. 



As Americans we NOW have a very short window of opportunity. WE have to 

 make the CHOICE . Are we going to help the newborn Russian farmers survive? 

 Are WE going to help sustain their new democratic form of government, or are 

 we going to stay in our warm houses and let nature take its course, and watch 

 democracy die and witness dictatorial government return to Russia? 



Recently President Clinton seiid, "If we are wilUng to spend trilUons of dollars to 

 ensure communism's defeat in the Cold War, surely we should be willing to invest 

 a tiny fraction of that to support democracy's success where communism failed." 



This Wisconsin shepherd agrees. 



We must honestly ask, are we sending grsdn and other agricultural commodities 

 to Russia to help them or U.S. ? I know the far-reaching political impUcations of 

 this question. I realize the impact this has on American farmers and American 

 agribusiness. I also know what it is doing to Russian farmers and the total 

 Russian economy. No, I don't want the Russian people to go hungry. I want 

 them to become one of the great democratic nations of the world. This can only 

 happen if we are to provide REAL help. 



We need to bring this lamb in out of the cold, and nurture it until it becomes a 

 productive member of the democratic flock. Just as we have done with Japan, 

 Germany, England, Korea, Taiwan, France, etc., when they were struggling for 

 life. We must TEACH THEM TO FISH so they can feed themselves, rather than 

 giving or selling them commodities until they have lost the ability to produce, 

 are bankrupt, and are forced once again to become a BEAR instead of a lamb. 



America, along with the other democratic members, needs to reaUze that foreign 

 aid alone won't turn the course of Russian history. But it would be completely 

 foolish to let this new democratic movement die in the chaos of this era because 

 of the need of a relatively small amount of cash to keep basic government 

 services intact. What is relatively small? Compared to the amount the 

 democratic governments have spent in the past to defend themselves from the 

 threat of communism and the former Soviet Union, relatively small is in 

 comparison to what it will cost if we don't make the right choices now. 



What kind of help am I referring to? Quit expecting too much too early, and 

 reward for advances in DEMOCRATIC SELF-GOVERNMENT. Then start 



TG.017, 3/25/93 



