The Cost of New Energy in Europe, but Not in Money

by Giulio Meotti • April 17, 2022 at 5:00 am

"When I left Nantes in 1984, it was tranquility itself, even in the traditionally more working-class neighborhoods... Today Nantes has become Lebanonized. And its history is that of France..." — Ivan Rioufol, journalist, Le Figaro, April 7, 2018.
One might even be forgiven for thinking that Qatar's ultimate goal was to Islamize Europe. In the words of a television documentary, it is Qatar's "war of influence".
"[T]he Assalam mosque," Le Figaro recounts, "was built on land sold by the municipality, benefiting from a 'cultural' contribution of 200,000 euros and a loan guarantee of 346,800 euros". The city financed its own self-conquest. ...
Russian gas is not free; Qatari gas as well.
The German website Tichys Einblick comments that "instead of Putin's war, we will finance Islamic terrorism". The unconditional will to shine morally has harmful consequences -- all because nuclear power is "haram" (forbidden).

As Europe turns from its masochistic energy dependence on Russia, and the potential blackmail that came with it, will it now fall into the open arms of other dictatorships that stand ready to pump gas into its markets, such as such as Algeria? Even more dangerous might be a new partnership formed between Germany and Qatar. They have just agreed on a huge long-term energy partnership to reduce dependence on Russian gas, according to German Economy Minister Robert Habeck, who last month visited the Persian Gulf and met with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani. Italy was the first to negotiate with Qatar, a country that, according to Freedom House, numbers 25 out of 100 on its the freedom score, only slightly above Russia, at 19.

Qatar is now saying that it stands "in solidarity" with Europe.

Solidarity?

Continue Reading Article

Imran Khan: A Collateral Victim of Putin

by Amir Taheri • April 17, 2022 at 4:30 am

The past four years, however, depict Khan's premiership as a tale of faux-pas and broken promises. He tried to use Pakistan's powerful military elite as a support base against real or imagined political rivals, not realizing that embracing a gorilla may include the risk of being crushed by it.
He also picked fights with the religious establishment while adopting a conciliatory posture towards the Pakistani Taliban, who regard him as no better than an "infidel".
The fact that the Russian project would require 4,000 kilometer-long pipelines passing through Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan, plus massive investments beyond Pakistan's ability, should have told Khan that what Putin offered him was a googlie, a cricket term for "cheating". What Khan took for energy pipelines could exist only in a pipe dream.

Pictured: Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with then Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan at the Kremlin in Moscow on February 24, 2022. (Photo by Mikhail Klimentyev/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images)

Four years ago when Imran Khan emerged as prime minister of Pakistan many saw him as a breath of fresh air in a political system marked by the stink of corruption and ineptitude.

In many ways Khan was an outsider. First, unlike his predecessors, he was neither a Sindhi nor a Punjabi but a Pathan by descent. He did not hail from either a feudal clan or a family of urban compradors.

Having made a career as brilliant cricketer, nor was he a professional politician and was thus unsullied by the scandals that formed a good part of Pakistani political life.

Khan's marriage to a glamour society girl, daughter of a Jewish English billionaire, also gave him a certain cachet.

Khan was also exceptional because he rose to the top of the greasy pole of Pakistani politics without a proper political party and thanks to a support base created through his personal charisma rather than ideology.

Continue Reading Article