Washington Lies to the EU
F. William Engdahl
The White House and State Department
have engaged in brazen lying to EU governments regarding the ability of
the US to supply more than enough natural gas to replace Russian gas
deliveries. Recent statements by US President Obama and Secretary of
State John Kerry are so patently false that it betrays an incredible
desperation in Washington over the situation in Ukraine versus Moscow.
Or it suggests that Washington is so out of touch with any factual
reality she simply doesn’t care what she says. Either way, it suggests
an unreliable diplomatic partner for the EU.
After his recent meeting with EU leaders Obama issued the incredible
statement that the secret Transatlantic Trade and Investment
Partnership (TTIP) that is being secretly negotiated behind closed doors
by the major private multinational companies would make it easier for
the United States to export gas to Europe and help it reduce its
dependency on Russian energy: “Once we have a trade agreement in place,
export licenses for projects for liquefied natural gas destined to
Europe would be much easier, something that is obviously relevant in
today’s geopolitical environment,” Obama stated.
That bit of political opportunism to try to push the stalled TTIP
talks by playing on EU fears of Russian gas loss after the
US-orchestrated Ukraine coup of February 22, ignores the fact that the
problem in getting US shale gas to the EU does not lie in easier LNG
licensing procedures in the USA and EU.