Centerblue.org

Europeans must be getting really worried that they have become so heavily reliant on a thug state for their present and future energy needs. Russia is using tactics for extracting higher prices from its neighbors that would make Stalin proud, forcing nearby states to retaliate–and the whole thing is becoming a major nightmare for Europe.

Last year, Russia cut off natural gas supplies to Ukraine in the dead of winter over a dispute where Russia sought to extract drastic price increases from its neighbor. Later it threatened to do the same to Georgia and Belarus if they didn’t pony up double the amount those countries had been paying before. And in a move sure to send chills through the entire oil industry worldwide, Russia forced the Shell Corporation to give up a controlling stake in the huge Sakhalin-2 natural gas project that company had invested in, bringing even more natural resources under the direct control of the Russian government and its energy monopoly Gazprom.

Both Georgia and Belarus had to cave to the demands, but the latter has now retaliated by slapping a tax of $45 per ton of oil passing from Russia through Belarus’s pipes to Germany, Poland and Ukraine. In response, Russia has now cut off all oil flowing through Belarus–citing “force majeure” or “unavoidable circumstances.”

Needless to say, Europe is highly upset.

This is the future that awaits us if we don’t start now to diversify our energy sources–one where the petroleum “have’s” lord it over the “have not’s” in any way they see fit. Russia’s antics don’t just threaten Europe–they embolden other countries to do the same thing throughout the world. These countries–from Venezuela to Saudi Arabia and Iran–know that they have a chokehold on a key vulnerability of the West, and intend to use every resource at their disposal to impose their brand of hegemony.

Have we had enough yet? Few national security problems are more pressing than ensuring a steady energy supply that doesn’t depend on unstable or rogue nations. So what are we going to do about it?

Bush seems determined to be as abrasive as possible to other nations. At the G8 summit going on, deep differences quickly became evident between Bush and Russia’s Vladimir Putin, where there was a handshake but little warmth.

Bush refused to allow Russia into the World Trade Organization. Why not? Primarily over access to Russia’s markets for US meat. Most other issues had been resolved. Bush would have gained a great deal of good will internationally and with Russia at a time he really needed it, had he dropped his opposition to Russia’s membership. Once again he did not fail to do the wrong thing, ensuring that Russia will continue to pose obstacles to US objectives regarding Iran and North Korea.

There was also lack of agreement on the Israel/Lebanon crisis, with Bush refusing to place any blame on Israel while Putin called for a more balanced approach. The rest of the G-8 group has likewise split with Bush on this issue.

On the issue of democracy in Russia, a particularly amusing exchange occurred that put Bush in his place. From the Washington Post article:

“I talked about my desire to promote institutional change in parts of the world like Iraq, where there’s a free press and free religion,” Bush said, “and I told him that a lot of people in our country would hope that Russia would do the same thing.”

Putin seized on that remark. “We certainly would not want to have the same kind of democracy as they have in Iraq, I will tell you quite honestly,” he said, provoking laughter from the Russian side.

Bush seemed caught off guard. “Just wait,” he replied softly, maintaining a strained smile.

A strained smile is about all Bush can muster with anyone these days.