In a memo to the White House in July 1981, advisers in the
Ronald Reagan administration urged opposition to a new pipeline from
Russia's oil- and gas-rich regions to Europe, warning that it would
weaken the West's bargaining hand.
"Our strategy is aimed at limiting Soviet economic leverage over the West," Pentagon aides told the White House in the memo.
The
Trans-Siberian Pipeline, which crosses modern-day Ukraine, was built
nonetheless, and it helped transform Russia into an energy superpower
that nurtures the European Union's dependence on its fossil fuels.
Nearly
33 years later, the warning from Reagan's defense advisers stands
prescient, as President Vladimir Putin, the KGB-bred successor to the
Soviet empire, has muted the West's response to his military incursion
in Ukraine by relying on Europe's addiction to Russian resources.
"President
Reagan clearly understood at the time that Russia was not interested in
being part of the family of nations," said Larry Eastland, a State
Department official in the Reagan administration. "Anytime you allow
someone to have their hand on the spigot, you've not only given them
economic power, you've given them military power as well."
Since
Mr. Putin came to power as prime minister in 1999, Russia has become the
largest exporter of oil and natural gas to the European Union.
According to a 2007 European Commission on Energy Issues report, Russia
supplies one-third of Europe's oil imports and nearly 40 percent of its
gas imports.
In November, Forbes magazine summarized today's
reality in an article titled "Pipelines of Empire": "At this juncture of
history, the fate of Europe is wound up not in ideas, but in
geopolitics. Armies are not marching; rather, hydrocarbons are flowing.
For that is the modern face of Russian influence in Europe. To
understand the current pressures upon Europe from the east, it is
necessary to draw a map of energy pipelines."
(Click link below to read more)
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- Judy Chaffee
- This site is the inspiration of a former reporter/photographer for one of New England's largest daily newspapers and for various magazines. The intent is to direct readers to interesting political articles, and we urge you to visit the source sites. Any comments may be noted on site or directed to KarisChaf at gmail.
Thursday, March 6, 2014
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