As Biden’s disastrous retreat from Afghanistan fades in the rearview mirror, the question of national security has returned to the spotlight, pushed this time in the “front burner” by Russia’s attack on Ukraine. Casualties, both civilian and military, are on the rise; and the Russian president referred to Western sanctions imposed on Russia as “a declaration of war.”
When it began, it was tempting to see this crisis as unrelated to American affairs. Many question whether a conflict confined to Eastern Europe involves the vital national security interests of the United States. Yet at least one major factor inevitably entangles America’s interests with those of the other parties involved: our embarrassing need for foreign oil and gas, which means that the administration’s laudable embargo on Russian oil comes at a significant and wholly unnecessary cost to Americans.
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