Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Baffled
So, Russia and Ukraine are at it again over natural gas, and the Financial Times says that European officials are "baffled." There is nothing baffling about this. Americans are worried that we depend on the House of Saud and Venezuela for oil, but at least that can be smuggled, passed around on the black market, and acquired by auction from other sources. We are an energy fortress compared to the poor, powerless, trusting, baffled Europeans, who freeze in the dark if Russia and Ukraine get into one of their increasingly routine pissing contests. It turns out that all that vaunted European "soft power" is not sufficiently powerful to keep the heat on. I'd go get me some hard power if I were freezing in their clogs, but maybe I'm looking at it the wrong way.
5 Comments:
By 
, at
Wed Jan 14, 04:22:00 AM:
To put it rudely, fuck em. I would not mind if they froze a bit. Just enough to get the Kyoto kicked out of them.
By , at
Wed Jan 14, 09:56:00 AM:
European officials have a long history of being "baffled."
As I recall, back in 1914 they were all baffled when they discovered that, gosh darn it, all the boys really wouldn't be back from the war by Christmas.
And, in 1939, they were all baffled by how Adolf Hitler could cut a deal with Joseph Stalin and then grab half of Poland.
And, in 1995, European officials were undoubtedly baffled by how Serbian troops could massacre 8,000 Bosnian Muslims right under the noses of Dutch UN "peacekeepers" who were ostensibly there to protect them.
Yeah, lots of Europeans loudly assert that they're more sophisticated than us churlish Americans. So, assuming they're right, it's a total mystery to me why the Eurps keep getting "baffled."
By , at
Wed Jan 14, 12:14:00 PM:
I understand their bafflement. Beyond the specific desire the Russians have to dominate Ukraine, the Euro's can't figure out why Russia thinks it's in their interests to fracture the entire EU, as they are doing with this effort to get bilateral negotiations with individual countries going on gas supplies.
The EU has made it clear wants to toe the Russian line! They want to be dominated and to grovel, but the Russians don't seem satisfied with mere groveling and the easy win. Does Russian self-respect absolutely require the dismantling of political institutions? Or is there some sort of a strategic rationale here that I just don't see, ignoranamus as I may be?
By , at
Wed Jan 14, 02:32:00 PM:
No reason to be baffled. Neither Ukraine or Russia has clean hands about the gas contracts. And contracts mean nothing to either.
As usual, the hapless EU thinks its own blather matters.
An agreement will be reached, the gas will flow, the weather will warm. And in a year or so we will see a repeat of the dispute.
Russia has them by the balls on natural gas supplies and effective methods of resolution no longer exist.
These quarrels are no longer followed diplomatic notes and mobilization in Europe.
Except in Russia the "m" word no longer exists. In the EU they would have to ask a soldier what "mobilization" it might mean. And they wouldn't be able to find a soldier to ask.
By 
Dawnfire82, at
Wed Jan 14, 03:55:00 PM:
"Or is there some sort of a strategic rationale here that I just don't see, ignoranamus as I may be?"
Well, you named the Russian one; dominate their near abroad.
As for the EU... they don't have a foreign policy. And if they did, they wouldn't be able to effectively execute it.
