Has Biden Burned Too Many Bridges?

            President Joe Biden refuses to accept the blame for the high price of gasoline, and he blames Putin’s invasion of Ukraine for exorbitant prices. However, most Americans are aware that the high oil prices are the result of Biden administration policies to kill the energy industry.

We have not forgotten that Biden shut down the Keystone XL pipeline on his first day in office. Yet, Biden’s blunders have happened in numerous areas, and they have caused both allies and enemies to doubt his leadership capabilities. James Phillips is concerned about Biden’s burned bridges with allies and how his blunders will divide the Middle East. 

Although Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has helped to unify Europe against Russia, it has had a divisive effect in the Middle East, where many countries recently have hedged their bets by boosting ties to Moscow to offset declining confidence in U.S. leadership.

Even before the Biden administration’s Afghanistan withdrawal debacle last August, U.S. allies and partners in the Middle East were dismayed by a downsizing of the U.S. military presence in the region, incessant talk of an American “pivot” to Asia, and the administration’s commitment to restoring the flawed 2015 Iran nuclear agreement.

They rightfully fear that another weak nuclear deal will allow Tehran to pocket billions of dollars and escalate its military and terrorist threats against its neighbors.

These reservations about U.S. policy also have hampered cooperation with regional allies and partners on mitigating the economic impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the resulting U.S. sanctions on Russia, the world’s second-largest oil exporter after Saudi Arabia.

            Phillips noted that Biden announced a ban on Russian oil imports to the U.S. last Tuesday and has gone begging other enemies of the United States for oil. Yet, Biden’s requests have brought adequate alternatives to Putin’s oil. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates see no need to produce more oil. In fact, they have refused to take Biden’s phone calls.