by Tony Gray
posted: 29 May 2022

Let's end sanctions against Russia, right now, before the world breaks from the consequences.

President Joe Biden's policies have hurt our economy. He has tried hard to shiftt the blame onto anyone he can but the chickens are coming home to roost.

Rising gas prices, high inflation and a clogged supply line for imported goods were happening long before Russia invaded Ukraine.

Russia continues to sell as much oil and gas as it can, in spite of severe sanctions imposed by President Biden and leaders of European countries.

Sanctions that Biden claimed would bring Russia to the negotiating table has failed miserably. Russia has found new markets for his energy and, ironically enough, making more money from each barrel because of higher prices.

So, Biden's sanctions have not had the desired effect. In fact, they have helped Russia reap a huge windfall from much higher prices for oil and gas caused by sanctions.

Our government seems Hell-bent on bringing the Russian president to his knees and make him cry 'uncle'. Biden's plan to economically and culturally isolate Russia is severe and having effects on Russian citizens.

But, the Russian government has prepared somewhat, based on lessons learned after they suffered sanctions for annexing Crimea, in 2014. Sanctions have not brought Putin crawling to the West, begging for mercy. His troops keep pounding Ukraine, taking territory and lives.

We have seized more than $600 billion of foreign reserves that Russia had in the U.S. and Europe. Western governments, following the U.S. lead have taken property and money owned by Russians, saying their wealth helps fund the Ukraine war.

A bunch of oligarchs have lost soccer teams, yachts, mansions and money but the war has not let up a single bit. So, how effective has that been?

In fact, it seems to have been counter-productive. Biden and other Western leaders are angry that Putin has responded to Western sanctions with Russian-issued sanctions.

Russian sanctions against "unfriendly countries" may lead to millions of deaths around the world from hunger.

The funny thing is how Biden and other leaders are saying Putin is using hunger as a form of blackmail.

Our government is trying to blackmail Putin to end the invasion of Ukraine but acts shocked when Putin turns the tables on them by blocking shipments of wheat, cooking oil and fertilizer. Russia and Belarus, before sanctions, supplied 40 percent of the world's fertilizer, which is needed to replace soil nutrients needed for growing crops. Russia and Ukraine provided almost half of the world's wheat supply before sanctions. Ukraine was the world's largest supplier of Sunflower oil, used by many people in poor countries for cooking. Now, none of those products are being shipped by sea because of sanctions.

The president wrings his hands at the expected deaths of many people in developing countries. Putin has said he will allow grain shipments to resume if the West removes its sanctions against his country first.

"That's not going to happen," Biden declared. So, he will allow possibly millions of people to die because he refuses to remove sanctions that aren't working in the first place?

You can hate Putin and despise his ruthlessness used to sieze what he wants at the point of a gun. Unless, we are willing to put our boots on the ground to counter his guns with our guns, Putin will win in Ukraine.

We can send the defenders all the sophisticated weapons we have but it won't be enough. Russia will still crush the Ukrainians and take more of their land.

One question is: how many more lives will be lost before leaders accept reality?

Another, maybe bigger question is how long Putin puts up with the U.S. sending so much military help to Ukraine before they strike back at us. You better belive Putis was pissed when U.S. defense officials confirmed our intelligence helped Ukraine sink the Russian Navy's Black Sea flag ship. I can't help but feel that at some point that is going to come back to bite us in the butt.

The president should end sanctions. He can save face by saying it is in exchange for allowing millions of tons in grain, fertilizer and cooking oil to reach desperate people on the brink of death from hunger.

Will it take U.S. gas prices exceeding $10 per gallon to make Biden blink? Nobody knows how to play Russian Roulette better than Russians so they are probably willing to take their chances.

Will it take media coverage of millions dying in Africa and Asia from hunger to convice Biden to end sanctions?

What will it take before Biden realizes it's one thing to help Ukraine but it's another to burn down the world in the process?