How Low Oil Prices are Undoing America’s Last Major Enemies

Later this week, I’ll write an article defending “The Obama Doctrine” and really defending the entire Obama presidency’s amazing foreign policy work, that receives too little attention. For now, I’d like to draw attention to an under-reported story in our media: how low oil prices are unraveling America’s last major enemies. 

We’ve seen dozens of opinion pieces about Obama’s trip to Cuba, and even more than that about his Iranian deal. Plus, conservative commentators and think tanks can’t stop grumbling about his “weakness” towards Russia or Syria. Yet there’s a common oil denominator they’re leaving out that makes all of his foreign policy “bad moves” actually triumphs.

Most of these Obama-detracting opinions leave out that America’s disastrous embargo on Cuba has actually kept the Castro’s in power. By keeping American money (and thus influence) out of Cuba, the Castros have insulated their own economy to rely on payments from Venezuela and Russia. They’ve made Cuba’s economy largely symbolic, a tiny nation standing up to the goliath American bullies, a figurehead of hope against American imperialism. 

Though now low oil prices have severely hurt Russia and Venezuela’s economies, and their payments to Cuba. The Castros are now desperate for a deal because Venezuela and Russia can no longer keep their economy float. And it’s virtually the same scenario for Iran.

Unlike Cuba, the sanctions on Iran actually have had impact on their economy, because we’re not the only country that had them. Oil prices collapsing have also put their economy in a particularly weak position, and eager for a deal. It’s worth noting that low oil prices hurting Russia, Venezuela, Iran, ISIS, and anything that can hurt communist dictators and Islamist terror groups is a particularly far-ranging weapon.

It also makes two undeniable connections: that oil is the common tool for most of the world’s worst players, from strong-man tyrants (most of OPEC) to terror groups to warlords operating in chaotic failed states (the rest of OPEC). Also, that America’s remaining, large-scale enemies disproportionately run on oil.

Low oil prices are strengthening America’s interests and the point could be made that getting rid of oil altogether or making it irrelevant in the world’s economy would actually be a good thing for the United States. The next time conservatives argue that alternative energy or trying to minimize fossil fuels hurts America’s interest, use the dwindling fortunes of Russia, Venezuela, Iran, failed states, terror groups, and even—indirectly—Cuba as actual proof that nothing could be further from the truth.