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Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Ben Stein Rips Putin's Russia

Writing on Military.com, commentator Ben Stein warns of the falling Iron Curtain in Russia:

Here is a terrifying thought: Europe is now dependent on Russian energy exports for about 40 percent of its daily needs. Europe gets more energy products from Russia than from OPEC, by far. This kind of dependence on Russia would have been unthinkable in Stalin's day or Brezhnev's day. Sensible people would have considered that Red Russia was an unreliable supplier and would use its energy exports to control and subjugate Europe. But now, with capitalist, money-mad Russia regnant, we assume that we can trust Russia with keeping the lights on in Paris and Berlin and Rome and Prague, because Russia is a law-abiding society based on human decency.

But Russia has already put the screws on Ukraine and Poland about energy issues and made their people shiver with fear. What is far more ominous, the Russian state is almost surely the cause of the demise of Sasha Litvinenko, the dissident ex-KGB agent who was murdered in London last month by radioactive agent poisoning -- by a chemical element available only to governments with major nuclear programs. If Russia was the cause, this officially makes Russia an outlaw, rogue state. (It should not have taken this much; Russia's behavior in Chechnya has been brutal on a scale hardly imaginable in modern European society.)

Now, I sincerely hope Russia did not kill Litvinenko. I greatly love and admire the Russian people. They beat Hitler. They survived Stalin, and they are a talented, brilliant people. I would like to believe they are living in a new day under new leaders with respect for human rights.

But if Putin did kill Litvinenko, and it sure looks like he did, here's what we have: Russia, a rogue, murderous state, basically in charge of Europe. Western Europe is now subservient to Russia on a scale unimaginable in the days of the cold war. Even Tony Blair, toughest of the tough, bravest of the brave, cannot bring himself to confront Russia seriously about the murder of a political refugee with official refugee status on British soil by Russian secret police. The UK needs Russian gas too much to openly fight with Russia about this grave insult to British dignity and law. If Tony Blair can't stand up to Putin, no one in Europe can. Russia now calls the shots from Warsaw to Madrid.

Everyone is worrying like mad about the Moslems taking over Europe. It may well be that Russia has beaten them to the punch. Europe is now in chains of oil and gas, marked "Made in Putin's Russia." NATO is meaningless. The pride of France and Germany and Italy is in vain. Energy trumps all else, and Putin sure looks like he has won a very, very big prize.

Someone, please tell me I am wrong. I don't even dare to want to be right about this.

3 comments:

Richard Buchanan said...

Terrific read. It seems so much focus is placed on the MiddleEast and other chavez-leaning nation states ... but that threat building slowly from Russia is almost ignored by the western mainstream media.
question : according to the Congressional Research Service (CRS) - in a report published end of Dec'06 - the UK is not dependent on Russian National Gas (is it not supplied from North Sea fields? [excuse ignorance]).
Germany 39%, Italy 31%, Turkey 65% France 24%, Austria 69%, Greece 82% .. UK < 1%
See http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/2007/01/

Interesting source of newly unclassified or largely ignored US info.

Best,
Richard C Buchanan

Fellow Peacekeeper said...

Even Tony Blair, toughest of the tough, bravest of the brave, cannot ...

Who? Blair? Sorry, but this line makes it look like an article from theOnion.

La Russophobe said...

PEACEKEEPER: Well, you do have to give Blair considerable credit for standing beside us in Iraq despite overwhelming opposition from Europe and within his own country, and taking political hits because of it. Though, to be sure, he could have gone further, I think it's not a bad idea to compliment those who make some effort, as they seem few and far between abroad these days. After all, beggars can't be choosers.

rcbuchanan: Thanks for the interesting comments. If you are ever interested in expanding such views to be published on this blog as a post, please consider sending us an e-mail with such material and we'd be delighted to put it up.