Determined Leadership Everywhere but America: Open the Spigots, Open the EastMed Pipeline

[] [Determined Leadership Everywhere but America: Open the Spigots, Open the EastMed Pipeline]( by Pete Hoekstra • March 3, 2022 at 5:00 am [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [WhatsApp]( [Telegram]( [Send]( [Print]( - Leadership starts at the top, and Zelenskyy's leadership -- even that of Europe -- stands in sharp contrast to the failed leadership coming from almost every corner of the Biden Administration. - The Biden Administration has been quick to join in on the sanctions and other measures targeting Russia, but note: Biden has joined, he has not led. - [T]he Biden Administration still refuses to reverse America's dependency on Russian oil and gas by increasing domestic production and opening pipelines at home. There also has been no move to close the gigantic loopholes that fail to sanction Russia's oil and energy sector... - Under Biden's leadership, we are experiencing policies that ask Americans to sacrifice and end up paying for Russia's aggression, rather than unleashing American ingenuity and creativity to meet the challenge. - Switzerland abandoned its famous neutrality to sanction Russia and freeze the legendary Swiss bank accounts of Russian oligarchs. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz reversed course to close Russia's Nord Stream 2 pipeline, now in bankruptcy, to Germany, and to bolster the German military. Sweden and Finland are seriously considering reversing long-held positions, in order to join NATO. Meanwhile the Biden Administration remains stuck on its policy of American energy dependency, even pulling the plug on the crucial EastMed gas pipeline to Europe from America's allies, Israel, Cyprus and Greece. The EastMed pipeline should be built without delay. - Let us see to it that Ukraine does become the end of the line for Putin, who has already accumulated a long trail of war crimes and other atrocities. Putin's Waterloo. We have been imposing only half-hearted financial sanctions, "riddled with loopholes" and not hitting Russia's oil and gas. We have passively been watching Putin's savage assault on Ukraine in real time his countless war crimes -- including "pummeling civilian areas" and reportedly using cluster and vacuum bombs -- as well as the humanitarian crisis he has unleashed. Let us hope that Biden shows real leadership and changes course so that America will no longer be reliant on Russia and China, regardless of the outcome. Now that would be in the best interests of the United States. Leadership starts at the top, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's leadership -- even that of Europe -- stands in sharp contrast to the failed leadership coming from almost every corner of the Biden Administration. Pictured: Zelenskyy meets with US President Joe Biden at the White House on September 1, 2021. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images) At present, Ukraine's forces look out-gunned and outnumbered by Russia's military. If Russian President Vladimir Putin ultimately does succeed in overpowering Ukraine and its capital, Kyiv, let us make sure it is his Waterloo. Boosted by the determined and pugnacious leadership shown by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, global reaction to Putin's invasion has been swift and hard on Russia. Sanctions on the Russian Central Bank and the restrictions on some Russian banks from the SWIFT banking transaction system have reduced the value of a Russian ruble to less than a penny while interest rates in Russia top 20%. The Russian stock market has been preemptively closed to prevent a crash, and Russian airlines are banned from flying over large swaths of the planet. [Continue Reading Article]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [RSS]( [Donate]( Copyright © Gatestone Institute, All rights reserved. You are subscribed to this list as {EMAIL} You can change how you receive these emails: [Update your subscription preferences]( or [Unsubscribe from this list]( [Gatestone Institute]( 14 East 60 St., Suite 705, New York, NY 10022