Lyle Denit has written a reply to my guest column [”Rethinking U.S. interests on anniversary of war in Ukraine,” Gazette, Feb. 23] criticizing my view on the causes of the war in Ukraine [”Ukraine deserves a better kind of peace,” Gazette, March 2]. Unfortunately it appears to me that the writer has ignored my warning that we are no longer just dealing with the military-industrial complex, but we now must confront what Ray McGovern, a founder of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity, has called the MICIMATT complex — the military-industrial-congressional-intelligence-media-academic-think tank complex.

In ignoring this problem he apparently accepts the MICIMATT’s narrative on the causes of the current war in Ukraine. I again urge Mr. Denit and others not to rely on our mainstream corporate news media, liberal or conservative, for a true picture of what is going on in the world and why. Instead I urge that he and others to regularly consult sources such as the Grayzone, Information Clearinghouse, Scott Ritter, Ray McGovern, Larry Johnson, Caitlin Johnstone, Regis Tremblay as well as many other independent non-corporate sources of news and analysis.

Dr. E. Martin Schotz

Cummington