Meeting with Iraq Prime Minister Shia al-Sudani on the telephone today, 70-year-old Russian President Vladimir Putin said Western nations were trying to impose price controls on Russian oil. Putin told al-Sudani that price caps would have serious consequences on global energy markets. Western powers, embroiled in fighting the Ukraine proxy war against the Kremlin, refuse to admit that the Washington-based proxy war against the Kremlin has thrown world oil markets into chaos, causing worldwide shortages and skyrocketing prices. Western nations pride themselves free market economies, not imposing price controls. “Attempts by a number of Western countries to impose restrictions on the cost of crude oil from Russia were touched upon,” said the Kremlin statements of the meeting with the Iraqi Prime Minister. Biden’s Ukraine fueled the biggest global inflation in 40 years.
President Joe Boden, 80, refuses to admit that his ongoing proxy war with the Kremlin has caused untold economic hardship in the U.S. and EU. Biden thought he could break the Kremlin by imposing a ban on Russian oil, creating worldwide shortages and skyrocketing prices. Biden has never admitted how he’s hit the world economy with a wrecking ball. Biden can’t possibly admit that his proxy war against the Russian Federation has decimated the world economy, dropping Gross Domestic Product in Europe and the United Sates. Before the Feb. 24 Ukraine War, there were no hitches in the worldwide oil supplies. Once Biden imposed his Russian oil boycott, the EU was forced to live with some 25% less petroleum, something cheered by EU environmental fanatics. Before the Feb. 24 Ukraine War, the U.S. imported 5% of Russian oil, a small but significant number.
Before the Ukraine War started Biden threatened Putin with the worst sanctions in history, promising to paralyze the Russian economy. But it didn’t take long for the U.S. and world economy to feel the squeeze from the Russian oil boycott. U.S. and EU saw widespread shortages and skyrocketing prices, promising to harm Democrats’ chances in the Midterm election. Biden was so desperate he took a million barrels out of the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve, hoping the drop pump prices. When that didn’t work he justified his a July 15 trip to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin-Salman in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Biden asked Bin Salman to increase oil production hoping to take pressure off American consumers. When Bin Salman announced that there would be no increase in oil production to help the U.S., Biden threatened to apply some kind of sanctions on Bin Salman, exactly the wrong response.
Biden made a decision to boycott Russian oil, putting more pressure on OPEC and other oil-producing countries. Biden wants to cut a new deal with Venezuelan dictator Nicola Madura, another act of desperation. Instead or ramping up the U.S. oil fracking business to increase energy production, Biden refused to reopen the Keyston XL pipeline capable of moving fracked oil from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. Biden gave his assurance at the G20 in Jakarta, Indonesia that he would do everything to slow U.S. fossil fuel energy production, even if it mean higher pump prices. “Vladimir Putin stressed that such actions [price caps] contradict the principles of markets market relations and are highly likely to lead to serious consequences for the global energy markets,” said Iraq’s al-Sudani. Biden hasn’t learned from the Ukraine War that he destabilized world oil markets with his Russian oil boycott.
Putin knows that whatever price caps the U.S. and EU come up with, he can sell his crude oil to China, India, Brazil, South Africa and other countries for even higher prices. Biden expected his Russian oil embargo and economic sanctions to hurt only Moscow, when, in fact, it’s harmed the U.S. and EU. Before U.N. peacekeepers can move the Ukraine War to the peace table, oil prices are going to continue going through the roof, following the inflation fueled by the Russian oil boycott. Biden has no one to blame but himself for destabilizing world oil markets. Reopening the fracking industry would have taken pressure off U.S. oil markets, not to mention maintained job gains in the fracking industry. OPEC isn’t likely to let Biden depress world oil market, maintaining crude oil prices at the expense of the U.S. and EU economy. Biden has no answer for getting Putin to conform to his sanctions.
If U.S. doesn’t reopen the fracking industry, shortages of fossil fuels will be Biden’s legacy to U.S. consumers. While the U.S. auto industry has ramped up electric car production, automotive consumers aren’t quite there yet. With average 300-mile range, automotive enthusiasts don’t have the long-range flexibility without long-term pit stops to recharge. Biden’s all in on climate change as long it’s winning him votes, something that didn’t happen in the House where Republicans flipped over 20 seats to control the House. But took credit for Democrat retaining control of the Senate by one voter for now, the same as before the election. When you consider two election cycles in 2018 and 2020 where Republicans lost House seats, taking over the House was remarkable feat, no matter how much Biden dismisses it. If things don’t get better for Biden soon, he probably won’t run in 2024.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging the Bullet and Operation Charisma.
