Last week, Saudi Arabia announced, in conjunction with OPEC+, that it would be cutting oil production in the face of dropping prices. That decision came in spite of the Biden White House’s lobbying in favor of increased production, which included a sycophantic visit by President Joe Biden to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. In response to the Saudi announcement, the White House quickly announced that the United States would be reevaluating its relationship with the Kingdom.
Meanwhile, the White House announced that it would be “preparing to scale down sanctions” on Venezuela’s tyrannical regime, according to The Wall Street Journal. The goal: increased oil production from the Marxist dictatorship via loosened restrictions on pumping for Chevron. The White House continues to keep channels open with the Iranian mullahs as well, soliciting concessions from the same regime that shoots women in the streets for failing to properly wear Islamic head coverings.
There is an obvious question to be asked in the face of this random and chaotic non-strategy: Why, precisely, doesn’t the Biden administration just ramp up energy production by unleashing the power of America’s oil industry? After all, America is still the world’s leading supplier of oil and natural gas. And we have billions of dollars in investment sitting on the sidelines; refineries have been dropping offline and energy companies transitioning away from the precise forms of fuel that actually power the globe.
The answer is just as obvious: This administration is far more tied to its ideological predilections than to reality. Actually, reality actively angers this administration: when it fosters a foolish policy and predictably dire results follow, the administration’s response is pique at that cause-and-effect relationship. This administration pursues green energy boondoggles while begging for energy from America’s foes, watches those foes hold Europe hostage in the midst of a potential nuclear standoff — and then, of course, yells about how cruel our foes are for cutting off energy supplies to our allies. This is both unproductive and geopolitically imbecilic.
But at least it makes the leaders of the free world feel warm and fuzzy inside. And if America’s enemies gain comparative power, at least we’ll have the comfort of snootily lecturing those enemies on the certainty of their political isolation; as State Department Senior Advisor for Energy Security Amos Hochstein recently stated, “low income countries have seen that Saudi Arabia and Russia are colluding against them.”
Odd, then, that low-income countries are disproportionately siding with Russia and Saudi Arabia. Perhaps that has something to do with the continued dedication of wealthy westerners to the proposition that the most effective energy policy for rising from poverty ought to be phased out — that the ladder to prosperity ought to be pulled up behind rich European nations in the name of sophistry spouted by Swedish teenagers who specialize in cross-generational derisive contempt.
The West has surrendered wise policy — or even simply non-suicidal policy — in favor of allegiance to pipe dreams. Then we wonder just why reality seems to keep collapsing in on us like an abandoned house.
Ben Shapiro, 38, is a graduate of UCLA and Harvard Law School, host of “The Ben Shapiro Show,” and Editor-in-Chief of DailyWire.com. He is a three-time New York Times bestselling author; his latest book is “The Authoritarian Moment: How The Left Weaponized America’s Institutions Against Dissent.”
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America under biden–the land of pipe dreams, unicorns, and rainbows, but without the accompanying pots of gold. But the dems think they’re there, waiting to be plundered to fulfill their utopian dream of “clean energy”. The few will benefit while the rest go hungry, cold, and destitute.
I find it almost amusing that the Biden administration is actually shocked by OPEC’s decision to do what is best for OPEC and its members’ economies over the wishes of a feckless administration with absolutely no leverage to bring to the table. Negotiation 101 is “Always negotiate from a position of strength. Negotiation from a position of weakness NEVER yields the optimum outcome.”
Biden destroyed America’s leverage over OPEC by destroying our energy independence on Day One of being sworn into office. Thus strengthening OPEC’s hand around the world, even as he insulted the ruler of Saudi Arabia to demonstrate his alligiance to the progressive left in this country. Biden then began drainiing our SPR in order to try and mitigate the price shock of his actions, which only further weakened our hand and endangered national security. Biden no doubt intends to refill the SPR at some point, as it will be exhausted within the next 9 months at the current rate of drawdown, by making a massive purchase from OPEC at prices (hundreds of billions of dollars) that will be far higher than what President Trump paid to fill it up from domestic energy sources. Say thank you to Joe Biden for wasting even more of your taxpayer dollars, because of his bad policies.
Biden compounded all this ruinous energy policy through a series of equally insane actions that would further weaken our hand when it came to seeking relief anywhere in the world from OPEC members. Picture a beggar going around with hat in hand asking for some loose change. That is what Biden and his administration have reduced us to in terms of energy policy.
So when Biden’s negotiators showed up recently and asked for extra crude production to compensate for the administation’s self-inflicted wounds, OPEC held all the cards and team Biden held NONE. So OPEC acted in what they see is their best interests for their own economies. Something team Biden has never done for the people of the United States. Now team Biden is threatening to retaliate against the only option for oil on the table, after Biden created this huge mess in the first place. If team Biden goes through with his threat concerning weapons sales to Saudi Arabia and potentially other OPEC nations in the region, I’m sure that China will be MORE THAN HAPPY to offer these middle eastern nations Chinese armaments in exchange for lucrative oil sales to China. Who knows, if team Biden continues to this insane energy policy long enough, we may find our last military base in the region handed over to China in a few years. Making President Xi a very, very happy man.
DRILL OIL, NATURAL GAS, and MINE COAL is the ONLY LOGICAL and COMMON SENSE answer. RELIABLE ENERGY.
NOT FANTASY WORLD Energy that DICTATOR Beijing biden LIES about including his Global Warming LIE.
Where are all these FANTASY WORLD renewable energy Jobs? NOWHERE!
Been 22 months and NO Reliable Energy anywhere.
Just CONSTANT INFLATION and HIGH FUEL PRICES that KEEP INCREASING thanks to DICTATOR Beijing biden.
It continues: BUREAUCRACY – Turning ENERGY into SOLID WASTE since 1789.
Expand Our energy base
Nuclear
Oil
LNG
CNG
Thorium reactors
Offshore Current Wind Farms
Democrats have no solutions for anything. They make policy based on their narrative and wonder what to do when the consequences go bad. If you are still voting for Democrats but you’re starting to see that they have no solutions then perhaps you should stop voting for democrats
It is deliberate. Everything done is intended to ruin, so the destroyers can rebuild in their own image. Their accomplices are all those people who voted them into high office.
Democrats always have to deal with all the unintended consequences of their stupid decisions. They spend all their time spinning and trying to blame somebody else instead of making the correct decisions and doing things that are good for the country. I don’t know where their unbridled hatred for this country comes from, but I wish they would just go away. We don’t need to just vote them out of office, we need to totally destroy that party before they destroy the country
We have enough oil in our own country to last us for years to come. Why don’t we use our own and tell those other countries to take their ‘dipsticks and stick them’…..
Very disappointing article, does not offer any solutions or ideas that are new.
America and the Western world are at least 100 years away from cheap, alternative energy sources that can replace fossil fuels!
As I have stated before, climate change (warming), along with being false, even if it was real, first is a political question and only secondly a scientific question. Fly over people outnumber the elites attempting to cash in on alternate energy like sand on the beach.
Pete, most fly over people cannot afford, impractical, short range, expensive electric car and the public must live within their budgets and cannot just print more money.
My means of evaluating dem policies: their actions invariably weaken this country in relation to other countries around the globe. I know of no exceptions. This one is simply more obvious than most because no one can miss gas prices. It would not surprise me if the administration pressured oil companies to remove their signs so that its less glaring. And still sniffy sits at 39% approval. We share this country with very warped people.
Idiot Joe’s energy policies has destroyed world security and will soon lead us into a shooting war after he launders all the money he can thru the “AID” for Ukraine.
As Puck says, what fools these mortals be. You would think anyone knows the oil production is being cut. Even the dictatotrs. Now Ven. can hold up the U.S. for more moneuy. At what cost do we get oil. ??? Stupid DEms. Kyle L.
Is there any question that the current Regime being “Led” by Joe Biden is an international disaster?
It’s all to destroy the United States. Let China become the boss (officially) And make us a part of a One World Government, controlled by whoever will win the toss-up: (1) China or (2) Elites of DeVos. We, except for Russia who is still hanging on to it’s sovereignty by not joining NATO, are the last bastion to fall before the One World Government is complete, then Klaus Schwab, who said “you will have nothing, but you will be happy”. will be the winner!