Given that Russia literally just took control of the largest nuclear reactor in Europe, which does have the potential to cause massive radioactive damage to the entire continent, not to mention the planet, one would hope that the Biden administration is getting a bit more serious about sanctions.
Unfortunately, however, the Biden administration has not only decided to continue twiddling its thumbs, but it also apparently is going to continue funding the attack on Europe by shamelessly buying Russian oil.
After all, that Keystone XL pipeline was killed on Day One for a reason.
A reason that understandably escapes the American public, which is precisely why Fox News White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich questions, “as long as we’re buying Russian oil, though, aren’t we financing the war?”
Of course, Psaki’s first response to was to deflect, claiming that the United States receives “only” 10 percent of its oil from Russia.
“Well, Jacqui, again, it’s only about 10 percent of what we’re importing,” Psaki sniffed, “I’ve not made any announcement about any decision on that front.”
Well then, Ms. Psaki. Perhaps you should make an “announcement” considering that the indecision is literally costing lives.
Hilariously, Psaki has actually claimed that Russian oil is needed to prevent “high gas prices.”
All of the sudden that’s a concern? Where has she been for the past year?
Which Heinrich also pressed Psaki about.
“On gas, you just said less supply raises prices, it’s not in our strategic interest to reduce the supply, we also know the president as recently as yesterday talked about increasing domestic manufacturing to bring down prices on inflated items like goods, so why not apply the same logic to energy and increase domestic production here?” Heinrich questioned.
Psaki’s response? Again, a deflection, as well as an arguable double down as to why the Biden administration is continiuing to openly fund Putin via purchases of oil.
“Well, there are 9,000 approved oil leases that the oil companies are not tapping into currently, so I would ask them that question,” Psaki replied.
Oh, gee, what a shock there. Perhaps those “approved” leases may have their approvals yanked like other projects, and perhaps the oil companies may be “tapping into [them] currently” if Trump, rather than AOC-controlled Biden, is in charge.
After all, no one was happier than AOC when the Keystone XL pipeline was terminated, which Heinrich also inquires about in her attempts to get the truth from Psaki.
In that regard, Psaki’s response is the most humorous of all.
“The Keystone pipeline has never been operational,” Psaki sneered, “it would take years for that to have any impact.”
That would be because your boss killed it on Day One of his presidency last year, Ms. Psaki.
As despicable as Psaki’s deflecting is, perhaps the president’s commentary is even more despicable, as he clearly tries to publicly portray himself as some tough guy, despite his own son being grossly compromised by Russian gangsters.
“Since Russia began deploying troops to the Ukrainian border, the United States has worked closely with our Allies and partners to deliver a strong, unified response,” Biden proclaimed, “as I said when I met with Chancellor Scholz earlier this month, Germany has been a leader in that effort, and we have closely coordinated our efforts to stop the Nord Stream 2 pipeline if Russia further invaded Ukraine.”
Ah, right. The same way you “coordinated” efforts with Afghanistan?
By the way, it appears Europe is leading while Biden is flailing behind, so unless Biden is talking about “coordination” in terms of playing catch up, his remarks appear a tad disingenuous.
After all, even Biden basically admits he is following the lead of Germany in subsequent commentary.
“Yesterday, after further close consultations between our two governments, Germany announced that it would halt certification of the pipeline. Today, I have directed my administration to impose sanctions on Nord Stream 2 AG and its corporate officers,” Biden continued, “these steps are another piece of our initial tranche of sanctions in response to Russia’s actions in Ukraine. As I have made clear, we will not hesitate to take further steps if Russia continues to escalate.”
Author: Ofelia Thornton