By LAWRENCE KUDLOW
In a major policy blunder, Team Biden is formally giving an okay to the Russian pipeline’s last hundred miles and in so doing creates a major security threat to all of Europe and underscores the damage they have already inflicted on the American oil and gas industry. An incredible blunder.
Biden people have tried to justify the error on grounds that it would help their relationship with Germany and seek closer ties with the rest of Europe. I want to report to you that the rest of Europe opposes the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.
Only Germany favored it. That’s because it would bail out Germany’s failed energy policies that first veered green and then when that failed went back to high polluting coal. Even France opposed this deal. President Macron repeatedly publicly told Frau Merkel that he opposed it.
European countries opposed it because they don’t want to let Russia impose hegemonic influence. I know the Europeans oppose this because in the Trump administration, before we put sanctions on pipeline builders and any other firm involved (which stopped construction with about 100 miles left), I and others consulted with our European counterparts. And it was clear they approved of America’s actions.
The argument that Mr. Biden is going to improve relations with our European allies is just false. Outside Germany, they’re against approving the pipeline. This creates severe doubts about the diplomatic wisdom of the current State Department and national security adviser competency. Of course, this decision leaves the Ukraine in the lurch.
Remarkably as Betsy Woodruff of Politico reports, “The U.S. asked an unhappy Ukraine not to make waves and to stay quiet on the Russian pipeline deal.” Why are we damaging Ukraine? I thought our policy was to bring them into the western orbit. Membership in the European Union. Maybe even NATO.
By the way, isn’t Russia still occupying the Crimea? Or did I miss something? By the way, aren’t Russian troops still gathered on the east Ukrainian border threatening invasion and takeover? Or did I miss something? Remember Russia could turn the national gas spigot off anytime they want and starve Ukraine and other parts of Europe as well.
I wanted to put it out there because we were so heavily involved — myself, Secretary of the Treasury Mnuchin, National Security Adviser O’Brien, Secretary of State Pompeo, Ambassador to Germany Ric Grenell, Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, the President himself. We wanted to stop Nord Stream 2 for good reason. And we stopped them.
And now the Bidens are giving it back. Plus, the Bidens are doing great harm to the American oil and gas industry. So let’s get this right, in Biden world it’s okay to build Russian pipelines, transporting oil and gas. In Biden world, though, it’s not okay for companies to build American pipelines to transport oil and gas.
Nor is it okay even for a Canadian company to build one on American soil, creating thousands of jobs and other possible knock-on economic effects. Or drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.