Biden scapegoated the Saudis for an energy crisis he created

The Biden administration plans to « reassess » the eight-decade-old US alliance with Saudi Arabia due to last week’s OPEC+ decision to cut oil production. But the White House posture looks like an attempt to distract from the effects at home of Washington’s failure to pursue a successful clean energy transition.

Blaming Saudi Arabia, or OPEC+, or Vladimir Putin for an energy crisis that results from a policy of shifting from carbon fuels to « clean energy » – based on what sound like utopian assumptions – is dishonest. Unlike countries like Japan or China, America can produce far more oil than it consumes. The oil prices that American consumers pay are due to the choices made by their leaders.