(VitalNews.org) – The Nord Stream Pipelines posed sticky political and economic dilemmas from the start. The US cautioned European allies against relying on Russian energy even before Putin invaded Ukraine. Afterward, Germany decided to shut down the Nord Stream 2 project. Then, in September 2022, underwater explosions rocked the pipelines, cutting off all remaining deliveries. On Thursday, January 9, the White House denied an unsubstantiated report by a decorated journalist claiming the US Navy was behind the sabotage.
Pulitzer-winner Seymour Hersh published an exposé on Substack in which he cited an anonymous source who claimed deepwater Navy divers planted remotely triggered munitions to destroy the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines. The writer claims the divers deployed the bombs during a joint maritime NATO exercise, BALTOPS22, in June last year. Hersh’s source said Norway coordinated by dropping a sonar buoy on September 26, 2022, triggering the explosions.
Government Denies Bombshell Report Claiming United States Blew Up Nord Stream Pipelines https://t.co/clc0FyK3Rc pic.twitter.com/oMUamQuD0b
— Daily Wire News (@DailyWireNews) February 8, 2023
Ever the journalist, Hersh sought comments about his report from the Biden administration. Adrienne Watson, a National Security Council spokesperson, replied by email, “This is false and complete fiction.” CIA Director of Public Affairs Tammy Thorp echoed that sentiment. She wrote, “This claim is completely and utterly false.”
Unlike Intelligence and White House sources, Republican Senator Mike Lee (UT) didn’t reject the story out of hand. He confirmed the administration never briefed him or any of the Senate colleagues with whom he checked about the covert actions Hersh described. Yet, Hersch’s source claimed the operation specifically avoided using Special Operations forces so the administration could maintain secrecy and avoid briefing House and Senate leadership. The Senator took issue with that tactic if the story is true.
If false, slander. If true, war. https://t.co/KqIPnI5QJo
— Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) February 8, 2023
Supplying a cheap and abundant source of natural gas from Russia to Germany, Nord Stream 1 provided Russia with a reliable influx of income from Europe and provided Germany and other EU nations with affordable, dependable energy. Yet, the US and other allies cautioned against a growing dependence, fearing Vladimir Putin might use energy embargos to exert political influence.
Those warnings became more pronounced as Russia built Nord Stream 2, a second pipeline to deliver even more natural gas, potentially fostering greater dependence on Russia. Ahead of the Ukraine invasion, Biden seemed to make an overt threat against the pipeline on February 7, 2022. “If Russia invades […] there will be no longer a Nord Stream 2. We will bring an end to it,” Biden said.
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