And so it begins. As I mentioned several times over the last few months, when you project strength on the world stage, adversaries take note and exercise caution. When you project weakness on the world stage, adversaries take note, plan, and execute. This has happened time and time again throughout history – and it does not take rocket science to figure it out. Defending that this administration isn’t weak is a truly ridiculous exercise… and now so it begins. We’re now post-Olympics. This was the time to watch out for; the world had opportunity to get very dangerous, and now it has. Russia has invaded Ukraine, they are poised with China to veto any UN action.
We sent in Kamala recently. I have absolutely NO idea what that was supposed to accomplish, as she has been, by far, the worst example of a VP within my lifetime (even worse that Quayle, although his biggest problems were word gaffes, but he brought 12 years of successful House and Senate experience to the table, and had successful trips to 47 countries while VP). She has done nothing as the border crisis “lead” and nothing on voting reform, and polls lower than any VP in modern history. But we sent her to try to avoid another Euro war?
VP criticism aside, what we have now is oil prices on a rocket trip, and Russia now supplies 11% of the entire world’s oil, up by almost 3% just in the last year as the US cut production, and we are one of the LARGEST buyers of Russian oil just in the last year. We’ve also declined new land leases for exploration and drilling, killed existing permits, and killed pipelines (Keystone XL … but those of you that say “it’s only 8% completed” – yes, for phase 4 of the Keystone pipeline, a.k.a., the “XL” expansion, but phases 1-3 have been in production starting from 2010, already delivering oil to several places, including Texas; XL was going to greatly increase the capacity). And we’ve almost halted our delivery of LNG to Europe… allowing Russia to complete Nordstream II. That has now been shut off by Germany in protest to the invasion, but for how long? We’re not filling the LNG gap any longer.
And China is watching, with all analysts saying exactly what many of us predicted in the last few months: Taiwan may be next. Did you see Xi and Vlad in Beijing? Buddies by all accounts, and China making specific supporting comments to Russia.
Putin gave a speech at 6am today, Russian time, pre-recorded, that warned any other nation from interfering or intervening, else face “consequences unlike ever seen in the world” – as they now have amassed over 200,000 troops, have now entered Ukraine, and all of Europe is on alert. Cyber attacks have started – globally – and communications blackouts in eastern Europe along with airspace closures that have crept west in the last few hours; we have now entered a time we will hopefully be telling our grandkids about. What do we have? Sanctions. So did Obama, when Crimea fell to Putin, and when Syria gassed thousands of its own people in over 336 attacks. So did Clinton when our warships were attacked and embassies bombed and the first attack on the WTC was executed in the parking garage (he just didn’t have a good target to sanction, besides Saddam).
And so it begins. First leg of the stool. China, Iran, and North Korea are all allies with Russia now. Those 3 legs also taking action will lead to the unimaginable. We have been the world’s police and the world’s deterrent. The only one, since WWII. Other countries follow our lead, but only if we lead. Those of you that don’t like that role, well, you elected the right guy. And our adversaries have noticed.
