By Desmond Butler, Associated Press
Washington (AP) - The Cold War competition between the United States and Russia -- played out in Europe with the threat of mutual nuclear destruction -- ended with the collapse of the Soviet empire nearly two decades ago.
But the Russian bear has re-emerged from its cave with a new and powerful weapon -- the West's dependence on Moscow's vast energy supplies.
The Russians now supply about 25 percent of the European Union's crude oil needs and half of its natural gas. ,,,,
'It is unlikely that aggression against our NATO allies will occur with aircraft and tanks and troops,' said Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar, the senior Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, in an Associated Press interview. 'A nation could achieve the same and worse effects simply by turning off the taps-- people freeze, industry stops.'
....To counter this influence, the U.S. sent special envoy C. Boyden Gray to energy-rich Central Asia to lobby for new routes that run through Georgia -- notably the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline that was almost hit by a Russian bombing raid Monday.
That pipeline carries Caspian crude to international markets from suppliers independent not only of Russia but also OPEC. Lesser amounts flow through the Baku-Supsa line, which ends on the Black Sea.
....Washington and the European Union, ... hamstrung by its limited power to set a unified energy policy in the face of Russia's divide-and-conquer strategy in the gas market.
It has struck lucrative deals with individual European countries and companies to extend its distribution reach to the Western end of the continent. To overcome growing Russian sway, U.S. and European officials believe that the U.S. must use its influence to push through more pipelines from Central Asia to Europe.
....'The United States does not have a clear, consistent strategy to promote our long-term security interests, or our near-term energy and economic interests. The Russians do,' Biden wrote in response to written questions from the AP.
But Konstanin Batunin, an oil and gas analyst at Alfa Bank in Russia, believes the U.S. -- itself dependent on foreign oil -- has failed to make much headway because it has little to offer the Europeans in terms of alternate supplies.
'The powers are not equal,' Batunin said, referring to a struggle between the U.S. and Russia to control the region. 'The United States cannot offer an adequate alternative. A political resource with no economic element is not enough.'
