
<p>The world knows that Russia is a one-asset economy – gas. ; That is it. ; Without gas, Putin’s Mother Russia would be a third-world country with a starving population – the kind of nation we see in Sub-Saharan Africa.</p>



<p>Oh yea, the Madman of Moscow has nuclear weapons, but could not afford an army and the weapons without the income from gas. ; He would like to add a second asset – the grain fields of Ukraine. ; That is looking problematic at the moment. ; Hopefully, we will not allow a defeat in Ukraine to pile on our problems after Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, and, of course, Afghanistan.</p>



<p>Even as the Green Movement across the world is worrying about the carbon footprints of my 2009 Chevy Impala, Putin is waging a war that is an environmental disaster of the first magnitude. ; As a sideshow, he is threatening to create a nuclear disaster in Ukraine. ; But his main thrust is to use gas production as his current weapon of choice.</p>



<p>Whatever you may think of President Trump, you must admit that he had it right when he scolded the European Union – especially Germany – for shifting their gas and oil purchases to Russia. Former German Prime Minister Angela Merkel had already completed one pipeline from Russia and was in the process of building a second when Putin launched the first European war since 1945 – and he is hoping for the same result. ; The occupying Easter Europe.</p>



<p>The weaponizing of energy is the standard operating procedure for Russia. ; In the days of the Soviet Union, Moscow controlled the energy flowing into the homes of Eastern Europe.</p>



<p>During my Winter visit to Lithuania shortly after that nation declared independence, the Russian troops were still bivouacked in the woods outside of Vilnius – and the central heating was still in the control of Moscow. ; Consequently, the interior of homes and office were generally between 40- and 50-degrees Fahrenheit – including the office of the new President. ;</p>



<p>Thanks to another of Trump’s policies, he left the United States as a net exporter of gas – and offered American gas as an alternative to the Russian products. ; President Biden has turned America back to a net importer as part of his Green New Deal – but we still produce enough to dodge the fate of Europe, where gas-driven inflation is hitting hard.</p>



<p>While Biden likes to blame the American inflation on Putin, that is political bull poop. ; We are not nearly as dependent on Russian oil. ; The American inflation is largely due to Washington pouring too much money into the economy – and the Federal Reserve Bank responding too slowly.</p>



<p>It is entirely possible that Putin could turn off the gas spigot to Europe this Winter. ; That would put Europe into an unimaginable humanitarian crisis. ; And there should be no doubt that Putin would do that if he could. ; But the backlash would be a monumental loss of revenues for Mother Russia.</p>



<p>Putin is already having serious problems financing his dirty little war, the loss of gas income would end the invasion. ; there would be no money to execute the war. ; It would also create an economic crisis for the Russian people – as bad or worse than anything they have seen since the days of Joseph Stalin.</p>



<p>The outcome of the Ukraine war is still uncertain – and as every western leader has said, “Putin cannot be allowed to take over Ukraine.” ; They need to act like they mean it.</p>



<p>Putin may still win the battle, but it will be a Pyrrhic Victory. ; He is doomed. ; His oil and gas income is decreasing – and will continue to do so. ; The United States has cut purchases of Russian gas. ; While it is a slow process, Europe is starting to build infrastructure to buy gas from non-Russian sources. ; The major international gas providers are being encouraged to increase production to compensate for cutbacks in Russian oil. ; Now, they are not moving in that direction, but it is not in the Arab world’s interest in propping up Russian oil prices in the long run.</p>



<p>Russian gas-related income poses an existential threat to the security of the United States. ; The fact that Putin would dare to launch a war &#8230; threatened to use nuclear weapons (ending the “mutual assured destruction” concept that has prevented a nuclear holocaust for more than 70 years) … and is using gas as a weapon … indicates a decline in respect for – or fear of – America. ; We have already seen how the ; perception of a weaker America has emboldened every adversary – China, North Korea, Iran, Afghanistan, etc.</p>



<p> ;Nothing the United States has done in recent years has chilled Putin’s maniacal ambitions. ; America’s future depends on winning the war in Ukraine &#8212; and that means disrupting Putin’s cash-for-gas economy.</p>



<p>So, there ‘tis.</p>

Putin would be nothing if it were not for gas
