My one fault with the Biden Administration so far has been its leniency toward its enemies.
Republicans aren’t the loyal opposition anymore. Vladimir Putin isn’t just an adversary. Those who still support Putin are domestic enemies, and it’s there in the oath of office, that you protect against both foreign AND domestic enemies.
The spike in oil prices may be another opportunity lost.
The opportunity is to create what I call an Organization of Petroleum IMPORTING Countries (OPIC). While the U.S. is nominally an exporter, we are the natural leader of this group, which could include India, Japan, Europe, South America, most of Africa and even China.
The first task of OPIC would be to account for the elimination of Russian supply from the market. Each member would agree to a specified reduction in imports, or an import maximum. Each member government would deal with this shortfall however it saw fit. But if no one breaks the agreement, then you can go toe-to-toe with OPEC in the oil markets, searching for price stability.
Saudi Arabia and other OPEC members want price stability. They like price spikes, but they know they’re a short-term thing. Over time, over the next 10 years, they know that their net production will rise, while demand will fall. The Sun shines, the wind blows, rivers, and tides, roll, we live on a molten rock, and there’s also efficiency. Today’s cars, trucks, appliances, and computers all use much less energy than they did before. The increase in time between charges for your phones is all due to their becoming more efficient. The batteries are the same.
An OPEC-OPIC agreement would set a price of maybe $80/barrel. OPIC members would agree to pay that price, both with OPEC and among themselves. OPEC would seek to compensate when the price rose and hold back production when it fell. Stability would be the key.
Such an agreement would also take Russia out of the equation entirely. Putin could no longer gouge the world and threaten the global economy.
Yes, this is a deal China could accept. China’s leaders know that stability is the key to maintaining their economy. Once they accept stability regarding oil, maybe they’ll be accepting it in other matters.
OPIC is a huge opportunity for American diplomacy. Don’t miss out.
