{"id":1340885,"date":"2022-02-25T05:30:00","date_gmt":"2022-02-25T10:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1340885"},"modified":"2022-02-25T07:57:48","modified_gmt":"2022-02-25T12:57:48","slug":"bidens-russia-sanctions-atop-his-shortsighted-energy-policy-are-a-failure-of-leadership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bidens-russia-sanctions-atop-his-shortsighted-energy-policy-are-a-failure-of-leadership\/","title":{"rendered":"Biden\u2019s Russia Sanctions Atop His Shortsighted Energy Policy Are A Failure Of Leadership"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fbidens-russia-sanctions-atop-his-shortsighted-energy-policy-are-a-failure-of-leadership%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1340885&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Joe-Biden-speaks-on-Ukraine-e1645743475447.png\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/div>\n<p>President Joe Biden responded to Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine Thursday with a major sanctions package targeting Moscow\u2019s financial institutions.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSome of the most powerful impacts of our actions will come over time,\u201d Biden said in a White House address, \u201cas we squeeze Russians\u2019 access to finances and technology for strategic sectors of its economy and degrade its industrial capacity for years to come.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sanctions implemented with western allies aim to hinder President Vladimir Putin\u2019s ability to finance the Russian military with export blocks on high-tech goods while additional measures target members of elite society, including Putin\u2019s inner circle. <\/p>\n<p>Absent from the package, however, is any lever to curtail Russian profits from its lucrative energy industry. Deputy National Security Advisor Daleep Singh made that much clear at an evening White House briefing. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur sanctions are not designed to cause any disruption to the current flow of energy from Russia to the world,\u201d Singh said, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/PhilipWegmann\/status\/1496981768938745870?s=20&#038;t=hnPYLSnHgCS3L1MQt4Fy6g\">twice<\/a>, leaving untouched a key source of revenue for the Kremlin. <\/p>\n<p>Failure to go after the Russian energy sector is a consequence of western allies\u2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/02\/07\/how-green-energy-fantasies-have-put-the-world-at-the-brink-of-war\/\">inability to do so<\/a> without risking economic blowback beyond the boomerang effect already presented by this week\u2019s sanctions. Europe is hooked on Russian gas after knee-capping its own capacity for instantaneous power through fracking bans while Russia produces more than <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eia.gov\/tools\/faqs\/faq.php?id=709&#038;t=6\">10 percent <\/a>of the world\u2019s oil. Prices of Intercontinental Exchange Brent crude oil, the international benchmark, already <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/policy\/finance\/595646-stocks-plunge-oil-hits-100-per-barrel-as-russia-invades-ukraine\">eclipsed $100 a barrel<\/a> upon the eruption of Russia-Ukrainian tensions, with gas prices expected to soar beyond <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/02\/24\/us-gas-prices-could-hit-5-per-gallon-after-russias-ukraine-invasion\/\">$5 a gallon<\/a> nationally from levels already at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/business\/energy\/oil-rises-more-than-7-year-high-mideast-tensions-2022-01-18\/\">seven-year highs<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Biden sought to reassure Americans concerned over the international turmoil translating into higher energy prices Thursday with a pledge his administration is using \u201cevery tool at its disposal to protect American families and businesses from rising prices at the pump.\u201d Except he isn\u2019t. <\/p>\n<p>If President Biden were serious about countering Russian aggression, he\u2019d unleash American oil and gas production to reclaim the energy independence forfeited within the span of a year. Instead, one of Biden\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.federalregister.gov\/presidential-documents\/executive-orders\/joe-biden\/2021\">first moves<\/a> in office on day one was a suspension of new drilling leases on federal lands. <\/p>\n<p>While <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/joe-biden-climate-change-environment-and-nature-business-9751c4909a8b1baba28f3bcff9d5fa6e\">overturned<\/a> five months later, only to be <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/02\/22\/biden-administration-pumps-up-gas-prices-while-trying-to-scapegoat-it-on-everything-from-lockdowns-to-russia\/\">quietly reinstated <\/a>through a legal maneuver just last weekend, the halt in new lease sales sent a signal to Wall Street discouraging investment in the capital-intensive industry that suppressed production and drove up energy costs. Complemented by a cascade of taxes, environmental regulation, and <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2021\/08\/03\/biden-administration-opens-up-pandoras-box-with-new-environmental-review-for-arctic-national-wildlife-refuge-oil-leases\/\">outright bans<\/a> on drilling, Biden\u2019s energy policy implemented at the behest of his left-wing base has served as self-destruction for American energy independence, and with it, a key for negotiating with Moscow. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eia.gov\/todayinenergy\/detail.php?id=51338\">According <\/a>to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), the United States is now forecasted to once again remain a net-importer of oil under Biden after a brief stint as net-exporter during the Donald Trump years. From Russia, the United States still <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eia.gov\/dnav\/pet\/hist\/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&#038;s=MTTIM_NUS-NRS_1&#038;f=M\">imports<\/a> nearly 600,000 barrels of oil every day. In contrast, the Keystone XL Pipeline Biden shut down was supposed to transport <a href=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/tag\/keystone-xl-pipeline\/\">830,000 barrels<\/a> at peak capacity. <\/p>\n<p>Biden didn\u2019t sanction the Russian energy sector, because he couldn\u2019t have. Trump could have, and probably would have. In fact, while Biden <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2021\/05\/18\/biden-reportedly-greenlights-russian-pipeline-after-shutting-down-u-s-keystone-pipeline\/\">greenlit<\/a> the Nord Stream 2 pipeline into Germany that would have enhanced a premier NATO ally\u2019s already inflated reliance on Russian natural gas, Trump blasted the European energy deals as dangerous. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s very sad when Germany makes a massive oil and gas deal with Russia,\u201d Trump told NATO Secretary-General Jens Soltenberg in 2018 during a trip to Brussels. \u201cWe\u2019re supposed to be guarding against Russia and Germany goes out and pays billions and billions of dollars a year to Russia.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><\/figure>\n<p>Nearly four years later, the western alliance is now paying the price for its dependency on Russian power. Germany, which sabotaged itself with a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/opinions\/2022\/01\/01\/germany-is-closing-its-last-nuclear-plants-what-disaster\/\">phase-out <\/a>of nuclear and imports more than <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eia.gov\/international\/analysis\/country\/DEU\">70 percent<\/a> of its energy supplies, became an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/germany-reliable-american-ally-nein-weapon-supply-berlin-russia-ukraine-invasion-putin-biden-nord-stream-2-senate-cruz-sanctions-11642969767\">unreliable partner<\/a> in negotiations in the early stages of the Ukrainian crisis. While the nation <a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/germany-axes-controversial-nord-stream-pipeline-putin-sent-troops-ukraine-2022-2\">axed<\/a> plans to certify the Nord Stream 2 as a punishment for Putin\u2019s move on Ukraine, more sanctions on Russian gas imports could present a severe disruption to its energy needs. <\/p>\n<p>Russia had previewed its ability to manipulate European energy markets last fall when the continent suffered high prices from a low-wind winter, rendering unreliable wind turbines just that, unreliable. Putin <a href=\"https:\/\/www.atlanticcouncil.org\/blogs\/ukrainealert\/vladimir-putin-accused-of-weaponizing-russian-gas\/\">refused<\/a> to ramp up gas supplies as Europeans suffered through the energy crisis. While seen as an effort to strong-arm certification of Nord Stream 2, the effort may have also been a pretext for war, leaving <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bruegel.org\/2021\/12\/how-serious-is-europes-natural-gas-storage-shortfall\/\">European reserves<\/a> \u201cbelow the minimum volume\u201d by December for the first time in five years. <\/p>\n<p>A strong American energy industry operating at unleashed capacity could not only minimize economic pain domestically, but it could diminish the Kremlin\u2019s influence in European markets as new liquified natural gas terminals continue to come online. <\/p>\n<p>Capital and labor-intensive oil and gas operations, however, are no light switch, and Europe\u2019s energy transition coupled with Biden\u2019s negligence removed a primary cudgel for the west\u2019s ability to taper Putin\u2019s violent motivations. Yet President Biden has shown no signs to start the process of reclaiming American energy.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\" \/>\n<p>\n  Tristan Justice is the western correspondent for The Federalist. He has also written for The Washington Examiner and The Daily Signal. His work has also been featured in Real Clear Politics and Fox News. Tristan graduated from George Washington University where he majored in political science and minored in journalism. Follow him on Twitter at @JusticeTristan or contact him at Tristan@thefederalist.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>President Joe Biden responded to Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine Thursday with a major sanctions package targeting Moscow\u2019s financial institutions. \u201cSome of the most powerful impacts of our actions will come<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1340885","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1340885","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1340885"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1340885\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1340885"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1340885"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1340885"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}