To the Journal editor:

During the Cold War, our national intelligence community found that the U.S. was vulnerable to a Soviet air attack from across the North Pole. That led to establishment of 63 radar stations on our border. It was known as the DEW (Distant Early Warning) line and Calumet was one of the stations. I was recruited to be a chaplain at the 665th Radar Squadron and served for 19 years.

Now, there is a new Russia, and we are vulnerable to its new type of threat via social media. Indeed, both the July 3, 2018, Senate Committee chaired by Republican Richard Burr of N. Carolina, and an Oct. 8. Republican-led committee, stated that Russia — not Ukraine — interfered in the 2016 elections!

This truth was again powerfully documented as we watched television on Nov. 21. Fiona Hill, who spent 2.5 years as Donald Trump’s top expert on Russia, testified under oath that she was 100% sure that Russia was the culprit in 2016.

President Trump, however, refuses to accept this reality. Trump keeps pushing his claim that it was Ukraine. Trump keeps heaping praise on Putin because he told Trump that “Russia was innocent of the hacking.”

I’m appalled.

Our president promotes Putin as the truth teller and then turns around and spits in the face of our entire intelligence community by calling them “Liars! Liars!” pants on fire!

Our intelligence officers are seeking to build up a new 21st Century DEW line of defense, but Trump sabotages their efforts by tweeting “Fake News. Fake News.” This enables Russia to continue hacking and hi-jacking our Democracy. This is Not making America great again. His … refusal to confront Putin makes us weak. Trump’s assertion that our experienced intelligence community, which has served both Republican, Democrat and now again a Republican president, is flawed undercuts our long admired, and looked-up to, standing in the entire world.

Trump’s actions make me cry. They make me angry. More than that, these actions terrify me!

What do they do to you?

The REV. ROBERT LANGSETH

Calumet