By Monica Showalter
Over in Europe, the locals are wondering: “Is Washington still our ally?”
Such is the mismanagement of relations by the Biden administration, whose gas sales, greenie subsidies from its “Inflation Reduction Act,” and arms sales pretty well have left the Europeans on the losing end.
According to a long report in the Daily Mail, summed up with these bullet points:
- European Union officials are accusing the United States of profiting off the Ukraine war with Russia over the price of gas and weapons sold by the US
- One senior European official recently said in an interview with Politico that America is the country ‘that is most profiting from this war’
- The frustration comes as Europeans also raise concerns over President Joe Biden’s green subsidies, which they say could wreak havoc on EU countries
- The Biden Administration denied the allegations, saying that gas prices have risen due to ‘Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and Putin’s energy war; on Europe
- The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and its ‘buy American’ provisions could kneecap several European countries over the next year
So the arms sales are an issue, given that the U.S.’s $19 billion contributions have dwarfed Europe’s, and show no signs of slowing down. The Europeans, on the other hand, are running out of rockets, their own lesser contributions being more than they can afford, yet they are always being pressured to give more. That is making at least some of them suspicious that this is a Biden Crime Family profiteering operation. The longer the war goes on, the more money they make. As for Ukraine, well, the government there has no serious peace talks in the pipeline with Russia. Plenty of time, though, for Vogue photo shoots. Sounds pretty wretched.
What’s concerning to us as Americans is not that we are carrying Europe’s water in this, but that there is no auditor monitoring that the funds are spent honestly. An amendment proposed by Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky for accountability in Ukraine spending was dismissed by the Chuck Schumer-controlled Senate. With no auditor, anything can be happening with that money. The Europeans, at least see some sort of problem given that there seems to be some kind of incentive out there to extend the war for as long as possible.
The gas sales, with Europeans being forced to pay for higher imported gas in replacement of the gas they got from Russia is a bit skeevier as an issue. After all, the Europeans laughed when President Trump warned them not to get dependent on fuel from Russia. They did, and now they must pay the piper — over in Washington, where the replacement sales are coming from.
The Mail reports that Biden was on another planet when they asked him about it:
At the G20 summit in Bali, EU officials reportedly asked Biden about the high gas prices, to which the American President ‘seemed unaware of the issue,’ according to the official who spoke with Politico.
‘The rise in gas prices in Europe is caused by Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and Putin’s energy war against Europe, period,’ a spokesperson for Biden’s National Security Council told the outlet.
The “Putin did it” excuse may fool them in Democrat circles in the states, but it didn’t fool the Europeans. So much for Biden’s diplomatic prowess.
All the same, the Europeans need to take a good look at themselves and how they got here, begging Joe Biden for cheap fuel: Maybe they can crank up their old natural gas wells in the North Sea and off the coast of the Netherlands, as well as coal plants, and nuclear plants, instead of rely on greenie energy, if they are serious about that one. Having to buy from petrotyrants because you fail to pump your own is a self-created problem. Joe Biden, of course, does the same thing himself, yet exports some to Europe, to our detriment.
Lastly, there’s the much-reviled “Inflation Reduction Act” which as it turns out, penalizes Europe, given that most of the greenie energy projects include a “Made in U.S.A.” label. It’s not as if the European Union doesn’t do this itself on a host of goods Americans buy from them. But all the same, big subsidies to non-sustainable-without-subsidies projects such as green energy has had many knock-on effects which harm allies. European companies are pulling up stakes and coming to the U.S. to take advantage of all that Biden green free money, which wasn’t exactly the plan when Biden’s minions created the Inflation Reduction Act in the first place. They are leaving Europe and the U.S. is benefitting. No wonder that leaves them steaming.
Good diplomatic management? Doesn’t sound like it. Biden has managed to annoy Europe on a host of fronts, the friendliest most anti-Trump allies out there. Maybe they will long for the days of Trump, where policies were sound and everyone knew where they stood.