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This is what you get when you elect a corrupt compromised person Russia set to invade Ukraine at any minute


jtssrx

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First Biden Okay's the Russian Pipeline which then in turns gives them the ability to take over Ukraine as they no longer fear losing Natural gas as they get as much as needed from the new Pipe line. Biden is compromised this is why he okayed the pipeline period.  

 

 

‘I’m not happy about it’: Dems torch Biden’s Russian pipeline deal

President Joe Biden is facing bipartisan backlash to his administration’s agreement with Germany that allows a controversial Russian natural-gas pipeline to be completed.

 

A view of Nord Stream 2 pipes at the Mukran port near Sassnitz, Germany.

 

A view of Nord Stream 2 pipes at the Mukran port near Sassnitz, Germany. | Axel Schmidt/Getty Images

By ANDREW DESIDERIO and ALEXANDER WARD

07/21/2021 06:09 PM EDT

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President Joe Biden is facing bipartisan backlash to his administration’s agreement with Germany that allows a controversial Russian natural-gas pipeline to be completed, arguing that the deal is a boon to Moscow at the expense of Ukraine.

Biden and his deputies have long been at odds with members of Congress on the pipeline, known as Nord Stream 2, with lawmakers overwhelmingly approving a slate of mandatory sanctions aimed at crippling the pipeline over geopolitical and environmental concerns.

 

The president waived many of those sanctions earlier this year as part of his broader efforts to repair transatlantic alliances with countries like Germany, which has been pushing for Nord Stream 2 to be completed. And on Wednesday, the U.S. and Germany announced a deal aimed at mollifying Ukraine, which stands to lose the most from the pipeline’s completion.

 
 

“I’m not happy about it,” said Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), a member of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees. “I’m not happy about it in terms of the Russia politics, and I’m not happy about it in terms of climate change.”

 

Sen. Tim Kaine speaks during a Senate committee hearing.

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) speaks during a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing on March 18, 2021. | Susan Walsh-Pool/Getty Images

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), who co-authored the sanctions regime, said she was “skeptical that [the agreement] will be sufficient when the key player at the table — Russia — refuses to play by the rules.”

The Biden administration has effectively concluded that the pipeline will be completed regardless of whether the U.S. moves to stop it. The agreement struck between the U.S. and Germany seemingly puts the onus on Germany to ensure Ukraine, which has suffered the brunt of Russia’s aggression under Vladimir Putin, doesn’t feel abandoned by the pact. Already, though, Ukraine is hammering the U.S. and Germany for its “resignation” on the effort to stop the pipeline.

 
 
 

Senior administration officials describing the deal said Berlin will appoint a special envoy to help Ukraine negotiate an extension of its gas transit deal with Russia beyond 2024, the current expiration year. Germany will also create and administer a $1 billion green fund for Ukraine to support its energy transition beyond fossil fuels, with at least an initial $175 million commitment. Ukraine needs that money because it stands to lose billions should its transit contract with Russia end.

There will also be a 60 million euro resilience package, effectively to protect against cyber attacks. And Germany will enhance its engagement with the Three Seas Initiative, a key forum for Central and Eastern European nations to discuss regional matters.

“This commitment is designed to ensure that Russia will not misuse any pipeline, including Nord Stream 2, to achieve aggressive political ends by using energy as a weapon,” the U.S. and German governments wrote in a joint statement.

 
 
Biden and Merkel don't see eye to eye on Nord Stream 2
 
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The officials also argued that the Trump administration, not the Biden team, is responsible for the pipeline’s completion. “We’re making the best of a bad hand,” one said, noting the pipeline was over 90 percent completed when the Biden administration came into office. “And in doing so we’re trying to make sure that we protect our partner, Ukraine, and that’s really our priority.”

None of that will satisfy Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill, who spent the last few days expressing outrage as details of the U.S.-Germany deal leaked.

“Once [the pipeline] is up, the vulnerabilities are going to be there,” Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a brief interview. “I’ve always felt that we should’ve stopped it. But now we’re at the point where it’s going to be very difficult to prevent its use.”

 

Ben Cardin is pictured. | AP Photo

Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, May 24, 2017, about the Paris climate agreement. | Carolyn Kaster/AP

Another top Democrat, Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, said the U.S.-Germany agreement “isn’t perfect, but it’s a good outcome under the circumstances.” The idea that the U.S. can stop a pipeline that is 98 percent complete, Murphy added, “is based in fantasy, not reality.” He said fracturing the U.S. relationship with Germany “would have come at an enormous, indefensible cost.”

 

Biden’s agreement with Germany drew heavy criticism from Republicans, who accused Biden of “surrendering” to Putin.

“This is a generational geopolitical mistake,” said Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who co-authored the sanctions and has been holding up Biden’s State Department nominees to force action on the pipeline. “Russian dictators decades from now will be reaping billions of dollars every year from Joe Biden’s gift.”

It wasn’t just members of Congress torching the U.S.-Germany deal. Ukraine’s foreign affairs minister Dmytro Kuleba said in a joint statement with his Polish counterpart that the pact “cannot be considered sufficient to effectively limit the threats created by NS2,” and “this crisis is significantly deepened by the resignation from attempts to stop the launch” of the pipeline.

“We call on the United States and Germany to adequately address the security crisis in our region, that Russia is the only beneficiary to,” they added.

The U.S. and Germany have long been at odds over the risks and benefits of the pipeline. Germany views it as an economic priority and a way to import cheap energy into the country. The U.S., meanwhile, has maintained for consecutive administrations that the pipeline will damage European energy security in the long-term and will only serve Putin’s interests.

“[The deal is] a reminder that while we share many values with our NATO allies and EU partners, our interests are often not aligned,” Rep. Anthony Brown (D-Md.), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, told POLITICO. “I’m concerned that European nations will invariably increase their dependence on Russian national gas, both from a security and climate perspective.”

 

Rep. Anthony Brown testifies during a House Committee on July 21, 2020.

Rep. Anthony Brown testifies during a House Committee on July 21, 2020. | Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo

Meanwhile, Ukraine has been caught in the middle of the pipeline fight. Ukrainian officials have said they believe the pipeline can still be stifled, and that the U.S. should take action to ensure it never gets completed.

The Biden administration has been trying to keep Ukraine at bay as it scrambles to contain the fallout. POLITICO reported on Tuesday that U.S. officials have urged Ukrainian officials to stay quiet about the pact with Germany, warning that public criticisms could damage the U.S.-Ukraine relationship. The U.S. has also asked Ukraine to refrain from discussing the matter with Congress, where Kyiv has plenty of allies.

 
 
 

Responding to POLITICO’s reporting, Mykhailo Podoliak, a top adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said “Ukraine is receiving different signals at different levels.” And lawmakers accused the Biden administration of “bullying” Ukraine.

“This poor, helpless nation facing down the evil Russian Federation that they described a year ago is no longer, I guess, to them, a victim,” Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said in a brief interview.

In testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee earlier Wednesday, a top State Department official denied that the U.S. was pressuring Ukraine. Victoria Nuland, the under secretary of state for political affairs, told senators that “I know of nobody in the administration who has told [the Ukrainians] how to feel or how to speak about this.”

In another olive branch to Ukraine, the White House announced on Wednesday that Zelensky would meet with Biden on August 30. Zelensky has eagerly awaited a presidential meeting, which was put on hold after the first impeachment case against former President Donald Trump.

“This is a bad situation and a bad pipeline but we need to help protect Ukraine and I feel that we have made some significant steps in that direction with this agreement,” Nuland said.

Jonathan Custodio contributed to this report.

 

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  • jtssrx changed the title to This is what you get when you elect a corrupt compromised person Russia set to invade Ukraine at any minute
4 hours ago, Ez ryder said:

@Mainecat care to respond 

Quack quack 

He doesn’t care to respond. It’s truly been amazing to watch all of this unfold the last several years. Every single thing the left has accused the right of they are actually doing or are guilty of being. It’s crazy

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3 hours ago, jtssrx said:

He doesn’t care to respond. It’s truly been amazing to watch all of this unfold the last several years. Every single thing the left has accused the right of they are actually doing or are guilty of being. It’s crazy

Been that way for 20 yrs 

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How would the US react if Mexico or Canada joined a military pact with Russia?

Besides the fact that NATO is toothless, gutless and powerless I don't think we would appreciate one of you last border countries joining a military organization against you.

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7 minutes ago, Highmark said:

How would the US react if Mexico or Canada joined a military pact with Russia?

Besides the fact that NATO is toothless, gutless and powerless I don't think we would appreciate one of you last border countries joining a military organization against you.

At this point, honestly, I’m not sure I’d care a bit.  Probably save us money.  

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1 minute ago, Zambroski said:

At this point, honestly, I’m not sure I’d care a bit.  Probably save us money.  

Let Russia have it.   STF out of it.  Things are bad enough....we don't need another World War on top of it. 

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20 minutes ago, Highmark said:

How would the US react if Mexico or Canada joined a military pact with Russia?

Besides the fact that NATO is toothless, gutless and powerless I don't think we would appreciate one of you last border countries joining a military organization against you.

It might not be a bad thing. I would at least think that whoever was in charge would actually close the border.

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33 minutes ago, Mainecat said:

Why waste my time. Republicans are clueless about diplomacy.

My final answer.

When did Russia take Crimea?   Oh that's right in 2014 under the Obama admin.

Don't get me wrong...I couldn't give a fuck about Crimea or Ukraine but to claim the Dems have some diplomatic advantage is laughable. 

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39 minutes ago, Skidude600 said:

It might not be a bad thing. I would at least think that whoever was in charge would actually close the border.

Lol you really think so ? Fuck no Joe would use it as a excuse to put in a high-speed rail to keep all those poor people from having to live under a dictatorship government who would prevent them from working if they did not do as they were told .

Oh wait 

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49 minutes ago, Highmark said:

Let Russia have it.   STF out of it.  Things are bad enough....we don't need another World War on top of it. 

We’ve agreed on this since I’ve been here but, we’ll go to war to protect DC’s lies.  This admin won’t flinch to protect theirs with the Ukraine. 

Notice military recruiting ads increasing?

47 minutes ago, Mainecat said:

Why waste my time. Republicans are clueless about diplomacy.

My final answer.

The perfect liberal diplomat, right here! :lol:

 

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4 minutes ago, Zambroski said:

We’ve agreed on this since I’ve been here but, we’ll go to war to protect DC’s lies.  This admin won’t flinch to protect theirs with the Ukraine. 

Notice military recruiting ads increasing?

The perfect liberal diplomat, right here! :lol:

 

Military ads increasing is also the result of COVID mandates and dislike of serving under a democrapic controlled govt.   Less signing up for a first or re-enlistment.  

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2 hours ago, Highmark said:

When did Russia take Crimea?   Oh that's right in 2014 under the Obama admin.

Don't get me wrong...I couldn't give a fuck about Crimea or Ukraine but to claim the Dems have some diplomatic advantage is laughable. 

Isn't @Rocket Man back to tossing missiles weekly too?? 

As with everything the Biden administration touches right down to diplomatic relations it's another check mark in the failure box..:lol:

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1 minute ago, Rigid1 said:

Isn't @Rocket Man back to tossing missiles weekly too?? 

As with everything the Biden administration touches right down to diplomatic relations it's another check mark in the failure box..:lol:

Remember this? :lmao:  Then Putin/Russia walked all over them.

 

art.clintonlavrov1.gi.jpg

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1 hour ago, Mainecat said:

Putin would get his ass handed to him if he moves on Ukraine. He knows this very well. Cripes the French could take him out.

That is not the hunter bullshit you promised 

And no pretty sure if Russia wants  Ukraine back they can do it in less than 30 days . 

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7 hours ago, Highmark said:

How would the US react if Mexico or Canada joined a military pact with Russia?

Besides the fact that NATO is toothless, gutless and powerless I don't think we would appreciate one of you last border countries joining a military organization against you.

You are probably correct, but you can rule out Canada siding with Putin.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/stephen-harper-at-g20-tells-vladimir-putin-to-get-out-of-ukraine-1.2836382

Not our current pussy of a leader.

I’d muster up if Russia invaded Canada, but honesty we”d be no match. Fight like hell on a doomed effort.

NATO failed in Afghanistan, despite 20 years in.   NATO collectively lost a few ten thousand.
150 years of trying to fix Afghanistan didn’t work.

Russia invading Ukrainian land is a much bigger deal.

To repel that invasion would cause casualties not seen since WW2

The public has no stomach for such.

I’m happy North America doesn’t have that bullshit.

We can sit at a table and piss and moan about dumping steel, stumpage fees, pipelines. All the while  Canucks go to their Florida condo’s and Yankees come up here fishing and sledding.

We are civilized, want peace people, who for the most part are happy that somebody else hasn’t fucked us over.

 

 

Edited by Voodoo
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