Vlad's Gas Attack

I seem to recall that Russia was opposed to George W.’s Excellent Adventure In Iraq back when there was still time to prevent the invasion (I think we can state categorically now that that was a consummate act of madness by our ruling cabal), so it’s no surprise that Russian President Vladimir Putin would reject any of Dubya’s stupid overtures asking for Russia to model itself after Iraq (I mean, why would a reasonably industrialized nation suddenly choose a path of ethnic violence and sectarian chaos?).

And as if it were necessary to demonstrate the fact that our relationship with our comrades has deteriorated still further under Dubya, you need go no further than this story.

There are costs to all of us because of the stupidity of our leaders and their pontification in the media, make no mistake. One of them will be, I believe, our quality of life in the context of Russia’s rise as a dominant energy power, since energy costs are so critical to not just our economy, but that of the whole world. And if something involves energy, I guarantee you that it will not escape Bushco’s wary eye, primarily for reason of its own self interest.

This recent article from Asia Times Online is a thorough examination of Russia’s efforts to corner the energy market, with both their actual and planned activities in pursuit of that goal. It includes this quote from Condoleezza Rice:

In April, while visiting Ankara and Athens, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice publicly warned Turkey and Greece about any collaboration with Russia that would facilitate Russia's tight grip on European energy supply. "It is quite clear that one of the [US] concerns is that there could be a monopoly of supply from one source only, from Russia," Rice said.

That’s one of the reasons Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is over in China right now in an effort to strengthen our energy-related ties with that country. And again, referring to the Asia Times Online article, what struck me was the matter-of-factness of the comments by Su Jingxiang, an expert from China's Institute of Contemporary International Relations, more or less telling the U.S. that the way to better energy relations with China is through actual cooperation with countries and not just invading these places and trying to steal their oil.

So it looks like we’re going to be heading off Russia’s march towards energy dominance with the “help” of China, a rather odd replay of the whole “Nixon Goes To China” moment in an effort to prevent global Communist domination (what’s next, an “I Am Not A Crook” moment from Dubya?).

Just remember that Vlad doesn’t mess around (and at least it hasn’t gotten to this point in this country…yet).