Why The American Empire's War On Russia Must Continue

Back on April 13th I quoted Rybar Force concerning the US war on Russia’s energy sector—still the heart of Russia’s economy (The Triple Alliance, For Dummies And Neocons). Rybar lays bare the despicable imperial aims of the American Empire to hold back all other countries for no other reason than US domination around the world:

Rybar Force @rybar_force

The true targets of the attacks on Russian refineries and why sanctions should be taken seriously

Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources Geoffrey Pyatt has once again spoken out about the increased pressure on the Russian economy. According to him, U.S. government agencies are focused on preventing Russia from developing any new energy project that would give the country future export revenues.

There is nothing fundamentally new in these odious statements. Comments on the implementation and execution of sanctions on the Russian fuel and energy complex were formulated by U.S. State Department specialists back in May 2023. And Pyatt is just a performer who is required to produce results from the application of the current sanctions policy.

At the same time, there is a widespread opinion in the Russian media that sanctions do not work at all. However, this is a dangerous misconception. And the counteraction already now requires a coordinated strategy of the relevant Russian services. Read more: http://rybar.ru/ob-istinnyh-czelyah-atak-na-rossijskie-npz-i-pochemu-k-sankcziyam-nado-otnestis-vserez/…

7:56 AM · Apr 11, 2024

Today at Naked Capitalism Yves Smith features an article from OilPrice.com, a site that is consistently hostile to Russia. I’ll excerpt Smith’s intro and portions of the article because they document exactly why the American Empire must continue it’s war on Russia—or admit total defeat. To bring the war to a halt would be likely to collapse the American Empire because the empire is based on the Energy Dollar. To allow European countries to shop for energy around the world, including from Russia, would decouple our vassal states from the American Empire. The “four key reasons”, as we’ll see, really boil down to one: The demands and inner logic of a predatory empire that has hollowed out its own economy—expand and subjugate or die:

“The Four Key Reasons Why The U.S. Will Never Stop Targeting Russia’s LNG Sector”

Due to the variety of beats this tiny website endeavors to follow, we don’t alway have in depth knowledge of topics of interest. So some reader calibration on this article about the US attempts to stymie Russian LNG exports is very welcome.

It is not hard to discern that author Simon Watkins has a pretty serious case of Putin/Russia derangement syndrome. That does not necessarily mean he is wrong, but his claims need to be assessed for completeness and potential under and over statement.

…

By Simon Watkins, a former senior FX trader and salesman, financial journalist, and best-selling author. He was Head of Forex Institutional Sales and Trading for Credit Lyonnais, and later Director of Forex at Bank of Montreal. He was then Head of Weekly Publications and Chief Writer for Business Monitor International, Head of Fuel Oil Products for Platts, and Global Managing Editor of Research for Renaissance Capital in Moscow. Originally published at OilPrice.com

• LNG has become the most important swing energy source in an increasingly insecure world.

• Energy exports remain the foundation stone of Russia’s essentially petro-economy.

• Russia’s LNG industry is closely associated in Russia with President Vladimir Putin personally.

Perhaps even more than its targeting of Russian oil exports, the U.S. has been laser-focused on its liquefied natural gas (LNG) sector as they key area it wants to effectively destroy over the long term. Last week’s suspension of Russia’s flagship Arctic LNG-2 project by lead operator Novatek is the latest of Washington’s trophies in this regard, but it is very unlikely to be the last.

As U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources Geoffrey Pyatt said on 24 April: “[Novatek] has recently had to suspend production at its Arctic LNG-2 liquefaction facility, in part because of sanctions that the Biden administration has led.” He added: “We’re going to keep tightening the screws […]  We’re going to continue to designate a broad range of entities involved in development of other key energy projects, future energy projects as well, and associated infrastructure including the Vostok Oil Project, the Ust Luga LNG Terminal, and the Yakutia Gas Project.” So, why is the U.S. so concerned about Russia’s LNG sector?

The first of four key reasons is that LNG has become the most important swing energy source in an increasingly insecure world. Unlike oil or gas that is transported through pipelines, LNG does not require years and vast expenses to build out a complex infrastructure before it is ready to transport anywhere. Once gas has been converted to LNG, it can be shipped and moved anywhere within a matter of days and bought reliably either through short- or long-term contracts or immediately in the spot market.

Watkins then launches into a diatribe about the “zero-sum” energy supply and Russian “aggression”, but it boils down to:

… [European] over-reliance on Russian energy is the second key reason why the U.S. continues to mercilessly target [Russia’s] LNG sector.

Note that word: “merciless.” The aims of empire are by their nature merciless. Ask yourself, is that the rhetoric that Americans typically use regarding themselves? Well, it happens to be the reality.

The third reason is that energy exports remain the foundation stone of Russia’s essentially petro-economy ...

In other words, destruction of Russia’s energy sector and the foundations of its economic well being is what the American Empire is aiming at. Peace is obviously not an option. The Neocon view of the world is zero-sum, binary: our way or the highway, we win you lose, victory or defeat. Did you vote for that? The subjects of an Empire don’t get to vote regarding imperial policy, whatever else they may think they’re voting for.

Watkins continues with claims that sanctions are really working—follow the link for details. But then he returns to his refrain—Rossiya delenda est:

The fourth and final reason why Washington is so determined to effectively destroy Russia’s LNG sector over the long term is that it is an industry so closely associated in Russia with President Vladimir Putin personally. He has long seen LNG – particularly from the country’s huge gas resources in the Arctic – as the key to Russia’s next major phase of energy growth, rather as shale oil and gas was for the U.S., as also detailed in my new book on the new global oil market order.

Did you notice something a bit weird about that “fourth and final reason”? It’s about Putin, not about Russia or Russia’s energy sector per se. What’s up with that? It is, in effect, a nod to Putin’s effective leadership of Russia and his success in reestablishing Russian sovereignty over its future. That is intolerable for American imperial ambitions. Predatory imperial ambition is not what our constitutional order is about, but it is what the Deep State is about.