PRO-UKRAINIAN GROUP SABOTAGED NORD STREAM PIPELINES
New intelligence reporting amounts to the first significant known lead about who was responsible for the attack on the Nord Stream pipelines that carried natural gas from Russia to Europe.
NY Times: New intelligence reviewed by U.S. officials suggests that a pro-Ukrainian group carried out the attack on the Nord Stream pipelines last year, a step toward determining responsibility for an act of sabotage that has confounded investigators on both sides of the Atlantic for months. The brazen attack on the natural gas pipelines, which link Russia to Western Europe, fueled public speculation about who was to blame, from Moscow to Kyiv and London to Washington, and it has remained one of the most consequential unsolved mysteries of Russia’s year-old war in Ukraine. Ukraine and its allies have been seen by some officials as having the most logical potential motive to attack the pipelines. They have opposed the project for years, calling it a national security threat because it would allow Russia to sell gas more easily to Europe. Ukrainian government and military intelligence officials say they had no role in the attack and do not know who carried it out. U.S. officials said there was much they did not know about the perpetrators and their affiliations. The review of newly collected intelligence suggests they were opponents of President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, but does not specify the members of the group, or who directed or paid for the operation. Some initial U.S. and European speculation centered on possible Russian culpability, especially given its prowess in undersea operations, though it is unclear what motivation the Kremlin would have in sabotaging the pipelines given that they have been an important source of revenue and a means for Moscow to exert influence over Europe. One estimate put the cost of repairing the pipelines starting at about $500 million. U.S. officials say they have not found any evidence of involvement by the Russian government in the attack. Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2, as the two pipelines are known, stretch 760 miles from the northwest coast of Russia to Lubmin in northeast Germany. The first cost more than $12 billion to build and was completed in 2011. The pipelines were ripped apart by deep sea explosions in September, in what U.S. officials described at the time as an act of sabotage.
Now comes the most significant part of the Nord Stream story:
Any suggestion of Ukrainian involvement, whether direct or indirect, could upset the delicate relationship between Ukraine and Germany, souring support among a German public that has swallowed high energy prices in the name of solidarity. Last month, the investigative journalist Seymour Hersh published an article on the newsletter platform Substack concluding that the United States carried out the operation at the direction of Mr. Biden. In making his case, Mr. Hersh cited the president’s preinvasion threat to “bring an end” to Nord Stream 2, and similar statements by other senior U.S. officials.
this might be of interest
Germany and Nord Stream Sabotage: Victim or Confidant
Geopoliticalmonitor: The Nord Stream project can be traced back to Social Democratic Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, who attended the signing a letter of intent with Vladimir Putin just days before the 2005 federal election. His successor, Angela Merkel, continued the project. Her term in office also saw the start of construction of Nord Stream 2. Proponents from the SPD and CDU/CSU understood Nord Stream 1 and later Nord Stream 2 as a private-sector project, a means to supply Germany with cheap energy, a way to replace coal, a bridge to Russia and, above all, a sovereign German and European decision. Moreover, there was a suspicion that the threats from the U.S. against Nord Stream 2 were self-interested in order to sell U.S. LNG gas to Europe.
:coffee::icon_ask::zzz:zzz:zzz:zzz:zzz::fhmm::2hea dsalt::icon_fight:
But, of course, all of this does not and cannot mean that Germany carried out the sabotage and criminal activity. :no::eusa_naughty::no::stop00010::smilie_stop:
Words matter, and let's not forget that Joe Biden threatened to shut it down and declared the pipeline "history" if Russia were to cross the Ukrainian border again with its troops. It sure looks like he did, and it sure looks like the United States made good on those threats. Look at the intent. Intent matters.
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"I'm soooo happy that Nord Stream 2 is now, as they say..."
Quote:
Originally Posted by
gixajo
It seems quite obvious that the typical "quid prodest" in this case would point in the first place to the USA, but apart from that there is no indication that it was them.
Of course something like this would only be within the reach of doing so discreetly someone who has the resources of a state with good navy/army, not a simple group of saboteurs, but the resources, means, information, etc. to do what was done the way it was done are available to many of the countries that have a coast on the Baltic Sea, including Russia.
Anyway, we don´t know who sabotaged the Nord Stream, but all we should already know who started a war in Europe invading its neighbouring country with absurd excuses of de-nazification, blaming the invaded country for his invasion.
Sure, if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear. The government delights in obfuscation and obstruction and intimidation and political intrigue, yet if they've done nothing wrong, they have nothing to hide, right? Of course, the government has something to hide and is attempting to avoid comeuppance and retribution. This really is a swipe at a wider sense of systemic obfuscation and denial. After all, if you've done nothing illegal, then there's nothing to hide.
As the Security Council Report points out, Russia had no obvious motive to carry out this act of terrorism on its own critical infrastructure, but, on the contrary, is likely to bear considerable expenses to repair the pipelines. Let's stop pussy-footing around the fact that three countries, namely Denmark, Germany and Sweden, have already carried out extensive investigations of the Nord Stream terrorism. Maybe most significantly, those countries presumably know much about the circumstances and underlying causes of the terrorist attack. Sweden in particular has perhaps the most to tell the world about the crime scene, which its divers investigated.
Yet instead of sharing that information and intelligence globally, they have kept the results of their investigations secret and confidential from the rest of the world and, perhaps more importantly, have kept their mouths shut out of fear for repurcussions and for fear of implications. Moreover, Sweden has refused to share its findings and deductions with Russia and has also turned down or turned away a joint investigation with Denmark and Germany.
So in the interest of global peace and security and stability and prosperity and progress, here is the deal: the Security Council should require or demand those countries to immediately turn over the results of their investigations and findings to the Council. No pussy-footing around, no politicking, no drama, no hoopla, just action.
But it looks like they have something to hide, and the assumption is they must have something to hide and reasons not to uncover or disclose the truth.
Fortunately, the truth is knowable and also nameable.
Hallelujah and Amen. :orthodox::halo::fpope:
