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JULY
28, 2004 – On and on. People drone on and on about Iraq, it was right, it was
wrong. And all along no
one is pointing out the real problem with Iraq.
Yes, it is terrible 900 Americans have died and thousands
have been wounded. Yes,
it was pre-emptive, yes thousands and thousands of Iraqis have been
killed.
But
for America the problem is much bigger, because each day we spend
consumed by this needless yet all-consuming endeavor, the real
threats to our nation are allowed to fester completely unwatched.
We
at The Moderate Independent have been warning about Russia for
months now. We just
highlighted the article "The
Biggest Issue No One Is Talking About" from back on
December 8, 2003, in which we made clear that President Bush’s
inept, naïve foreign policy was allowing President Putin of Russia
to play our nation and the world and take bold steps, rolling back
human rights and democratic reforms and consolidating power and
wealth in his hands. (If you
haven't read this one yet, you should.)
And
we pointed out how, if you recall, the Soviet Union was never
brought down in battle, they only came apart due to economic and
political problems within, and so could re-emerge simply by
restoring its economy and political structure.
And
now it continues.
As
President Bush deals with the unnecessary, all-consuming mess in
Iraq, Putin continues his audacious moves to restore Russia – and
more accurately, himself – to being a superpower.
We
know Saudi Arabia is the world’s number one oil exporter.
Well, who is number two?
No,
not Iraq – Iraq may have the second biggest reserves but they are
not functional.
Russia
is the world’s second largest oil exporter – and this is on top
of all the oil it supplies for itself, which is an enormous amount.
In order to turn around Russia’s economy around, Putin let
the private sector in to develop Russia’s untapped and
underutilized oil reserves. Private
industry did a wonderful job, and so now Russia is the second
biggest player in the all-important oil business.
And
so what does Putin do? Arrest
the man in charge of the biggest oil company, Yukos oil, levy charge
and charge against the company, and drive its stock value completely
into the ground.
Why
has he done this? Because,
as we reported in the above article, he has consolidated power so
firmly in his hands that he can do anything he wants.
And what he is doing with that power is not destroying
Russia’s new oil infrastructure, but taking it from the people who
own it and giving it, virtually for free, to… himself and his
allies.
As
the Washington Post reports today (see article: "Yukos
Executive Says Oil Still Being Pumped"):
“State-owned
oil company Rosneft emerged as a likely bidder for Yukos assets
after Igor Sechin, deputy head of Putin's staff and a long-time
confidant, was elected its chairman Tuesday.
“Sechin
is regarded as a prime mover behind the campaign against Yukos and (Yukos
owner) Khodorkovsky, who could go to jail for 10 years if
convicted.”
In
other words, Putin’s deputy head of staff, Igor Sechin,
orchestrated a campaign to send the owner of the biggest, richest
oil company in Russia to jail for 10 years, and now has just been
made chairman of a company that will end up obtaining Yukos.
So
Putin’s buddy is being handed the company.
But it gets better. Not
only did they knock out Yukos’ owner by arresting him and take
over the company for themselves, they made sure to drive the
company’s stock price into the ground so they could take over the
company for virtually nothing.
First,
they hit the company with supposed back tax charges that totaled
over $3 billion dollars, driving the companies price into the
dumpster. But even that
wasn’t cheap enough for them, and so, as reported today by the
Post, “Orders sent to Yukos' production units bar sales of
property, which under Russian law applies to their 1.7 million
barrels a day in oil sales, according to justice officials.”
Yes,
the government ordered them not to sell anything, and so a note came
down telling the company to stop selling oil immediately.
As
the Post reports, “Bailiffs told Yukos Wednesday to halt oil
sales, bringing the collapse of Russia's largest oil firm a step
nearer and pushing crude prices to a 21-year high.”
And
the effect of all this?
“Yukos
pumps a fifth of of the crude supply in Russia, the world's
second-biggest oil exporter after Saudi Arabia. If its sales stop,
the company could fold quickly.
“Yukos
shares slumped by 24 percent, resuming falls after a one-hour
suspension to hit their lowest since May 2001. They have been in
free fall since bailiffs said last week they would sell core unit
Yuganskneftegaz, which accounts for over 60 percent of Yukos'
output, to recover a $3.4 billion tax debt for 2000.”
And
so, with Putin’s buddy just installed as “chairman” of a
state-run oil company poised to buy Yukos, this driving down of
Yukos price practically hands Putin and friends the company
free-of-charge. From
the Post:
“’This
appointment obviously suggests that Rosneft is the main candidate to
purchase Yukos' assets, and strengthens fears that sales will occur
at knock-down prices,’ said Matthew Thomas, oil analyst at Alfa
Bank.
And
President Bush’s response?
And
Senator Kerry’s bold stance on the issue?
Now
in fairness to Senator Kerry, he has made some statements
tangentially related to these issues.
As
the June 2, 2004 Milwaukee Sentinel reported:
“A
centerpiece of the Kerry agenda would be to accelerate programs to
secure or eliminate Cold War stockpiles in the former Soviet
Union…
“Kerry
blamed Bush Tuesday for not making the issue a higher priority in
talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.”
And
Kerry has addressed how Iraq has taken us away from more important
issues. From the
Sentinel:
“The
Democrat pointed to what most analysts agree are the toughest and
most important "problem" countries: North Korea and Iran.
“Kerry argued that both situations had deteriorated due in part to
the administration's "fixation" with Iraq. He said he
would be prepared to talk directly to the North Koreans, while Bush
has insisted on negotiations involving other nations, including
China…
“Kerry
said Bush was not in a position to do that because his
"preoccupation with Iraq" had undermined America's moral
authority and its leverage with allies.”
So
Kerry does get that there are more important issues and that Iraq
has been a distraction that has hurt America – not just in the War
on Terror. And he is
making that case.
But
he is not making what is happening now in Russia an issue.
It is a delicate thing to do, as he is trying to offer the
nation hope and an end to fear as opposed to the Bush administration
selling fear that can never go away, but what is happening in Russia
is a massive issue that requires immediate, bold leadership, and
addressing it will only further highlight how President Bush’s
unilateral attack on Iraq has made the world a more dangerous place,
not a safer one.
Even
more, it is the Bushies who claim they won the Cold War, when in
reality they may end up being the ones who lose the victory our
nation obtained over four decades of hard work.
The momentum gained by western democracy and American ideals
has been ended and reversed. A
new era has been ushered in where things American are despised and
where nations are taking actions to secure themselves against
America.
And
it didn’t have to be this way.
Most
of us forget about President Bush’s backing out of the ABM treaty
as soon as he got into office, alarming Putin and creating a rift
between our two nations.
But
even despite that, shortly after September 11 the world came
together, and Putin was among the leaders who took the opportunity
to stand together with us and work to craft a plan that could make
the world a safer place. As
reported by CNN (see article: "A
New Era For U.S.-Russia Relations?") on November 14, 2001,
it was Putin who suggested a massive cut to both Russia’s and the
United States’ nuclear arsenals.
It seemed like we were entering a “new era of US-Russia
relations” where we truly were allies working together in securing
the world’s safety against threats by rogue nations and
terrorists.
But
going to Iraq changed things, and no sane nation felt it could sit
by waiting for America to come up with some reason to go after them
“pre-emptively.” And
so instead of this “new era” of positive relations, Russia has
done an about face.
So,
while we are stuck ostrich-like in Iraq, the real threats to
America, actual thoughtful leaders like Putin who realize power is a
chess match, not a spitting contest, continue to gain for their
nations as America slips and weakens and goes further into debt –
the sort of the debt that brought the Soviet Union down to begin
with.
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