Let's put the blame where it belongs

 I’ve heard people blame Biden for Europe’s dependence on Russian energy supplies.  A C.I.A. memo warned that the gas pipeline from Siberia to Germany was direct threat to the future of Western Europe and would cause a dangerous reliance on Russia’s products.

This was a C.I.A. memo from four decades ago.  It was for President Ronald Reagan, who, to his credit, took the memo seriously.  In 1981 Reagan tried to block the pipeline, but he received blowback from the Kremlin, from European nations who wanted the gas, and–wait for it–the American oil and gas companies that hoped to make a killing.  Exxon was one of them.

Now, after the Ukrainian invasion, Shell, BP, and Exxon say they will end their Russian investments.  It is too late.  About 40% of Europe’s gas is imported from Russia.

See Hiroko Tabuchi, “How Europe Got Hooked on Russian Natural Gas,” New York Times (Mar. 24, 2022), pp. B1, B4.