US Sanctions India for Russian Oil, Demands Unconditional Fealty
NPR breathlessly reports Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to India, his first since the Ukraine invasion, occurring after the U.S. imposed tariffs on India for, gasp, buying Russian oil. The implication, subtle as a brick, is that India's engagement with Moscow is somehow a transgression. Missing from this narrative is the rather obvious historical precedent: nations, especially rising
powers, prioritize their own economic interests, particularly when Western powers offer sanctions instead of solutions. This isn't about global solidarity; it's about control. The US, which has historically maintained extensive relationships with various nations despite their human rights records when it served American interests, now punishes others for independent foreign policy. India, as the
world's third-largest oil importer, simply secured discounted energy. One might wonder if the 'rules-based order' only applies when Washington writes the rules – and collects the tariffs. How many sovereign nations must be financially kneecapped before the media acknowledges this isn't about freedom, but about economic coercion?