Seymour Hersh’s report on the sabotage of Russia’s Nordstream gas pipelines to Germany solves this ‘whodunit’ definitively — with the help of preening officials unable to restrain themselves from trumpeting their own roles in this act of war:
Thank you for sharing this article. Like the sinking of the Lusitania or Pearl Harbor or the Black Tom explosion, the aftermath probably won’t be what the plotters intended...
This unprovoked sabotage was an act of great operational virtuosity with ill-considered motivations. There will certainly be repercussions that the perpetrators are either unaware of or blithely unconcerned about.
Hersh also says in the Berliner Zeitung interview that the occupant of the White House vacillated or oscillated between using the threat to blow up Nordstream as a negotiating tactic, and actually blowing it up. Advisors also changed their minds, and many of those foreign-policy-wonk geniuses couldn't figure out the difference between a threat, a bluff, and an act of war. Hersh says 'they initially thought this was a useful weapon he could use in negotiations. But at some point, after the Russians invaded and then when the operation was completed, the whole thing became increasingly repugnant to the people who were doing it. These were people who worked in top positions in the intelligence services and were well trained. They turned against the project, they thought it was crazy'. That's quite a range of opinion. Hersh continues 'Shortly after the attack, after they had done what they were ordered to do, there was a lot of anger about the operation and repudiation among those involved. That’s one of the reasons I learned so much'. CIA participants in particular, according to Hersh, were 'appalled that Biden decided to expose Europe to the cold in order to further a war he will not win'. The picture of indecision, chaos, and internal strife revealed by this account is perfectly consistent with a criminal gang that has zero regard for, and less understanding of, consequences of their behavior. A coherent policy can only be executed by people who have some well-defined purpose -- these people have none. They will therefore defeat themselves.
Of all the many comments on Seymour Hersh's Nordstream report, eugyppius's summary of Hersh's Berliner Zeitung interview hits the key additional details: https://www.eugyppius.com/p/nord-stream-update-in-lengthy-interview . Eight mines were planted, but only six exploded. 'This is the first confirmation we’ve had anywhere of an obvious point, namely that the operation wasn’t fully successful, and that this is the only reason that Pipe B of Nord Stream 2 escaped intact.' Hersh also tells Berliner Zeitung that since U.S. naval diving teams in the Baltic were practicing planting mines and detonating them, that was the perfect cover. But the person masquerading as president got cold feet. To accommodate him, they used a Raytheon device enabling time-delayed detonation with a sonar buoy that sounds like a flute. This wasn't a Jean-Pierre Rampal concert, though. The mine experts worried that leaving them underwater so long would erode their innards or interfere with their ability to hear the flute concert, and this is what actually happened to the two that failed to detonate.
As one reader wrote, 'It is impossible to comprehend the mindset that would lead
presumably rational people into making such an insane, dangerous decision'. One strand of 'thinking', if it can be called that, is that provoking Russia toward nuclear war will deter China from further aggression against America or allies.
Thank you for sharing this article. Like the sinking of the Lusitania or Pearl Harbor or the Black Tom explosion, the aftermath probably won’t be what the plotters intended...
This unprovoked sabotage was an act of great operational virtuosity with ill-considered motivations. There will certainly be repercussions that the perpetrators are either unaware of or blithely unconcerned about.
Hersh also says in the Berliner Zeitung interview that the occupant of the White House vacillated or oscillated between using the threat to blow up Nordstream as a negotiating tactic, and actually blowing it up. Advisors also changed their minds, and many of those foreign-policy-wonk geniuses couldn't figure out the difference between a threat, a bluff, and an act of war. Hersh says 'they initially thought this was a useful weapon he could use in negotiations. But at some point, after the Russians invaded and then when the operation was completed, the whole thing became increasingly repugnant to the people who were doing it. These were people who worked in top positions in the intelligence services and were well trained. They turned against the project, they thought it was crazy'. That's quite a range of opinion. Hersh continues 'Shortly after the attack, after they had done what they were ordered to do, there was a lot of anger about the operation and repudiation among those involved. That’s one of the reasons I learned so much'. CIA participants in particular, according to Hersh, were 'appalled that Biden decided to expose Europe to the cold in order to further a war he will not win'. The picture of indecision, chaos, and internal strife revealed by this account is perfectly consistent with a criminal gang that has zero regard for, and less understanding of, consequences of their behavior. A coherent policy can only be executed by people who have some well-defined purpose -- these people have none. They will therefore defeat themselves.
Of all the many comments on Seymour Hersh's Nordstream report, eugyppius's summary of Hersh's Berliner Zeitung interview hits the key additional details: https://www.eugyppius.com/p/nord-stream-update-in-lengthy-interview . Eight mines were planted, but only six exploded. 'This is the first confirmation we’ve had anywhere of an obvious point, namely that the operation wasn’t fully successful, and that this is the only reason that Pipe B of Nord Stream 2 escaped intact.' Hersh also tells Berliner Zeitung that since U.S. naval diving teams in the Baltic were practicing planting mines and detonating them, that was the perfect cover. But the person masquerading as president got cold feet. To accommodate him, they used a Raytheon device enabling time-delayed detonation with a sonar buoy that sounds like a flute. This wasn't a Jean-Pierre Rampal concert, though. The mine experts worried that leaving them underwater so long would erode their innards or interfere with their ability to hear the flute concert, and this is what actually happened to the two that failed to detonate.
As one reader wrote, 'It is impossible to comprehend the mindset that would lead
presumably rational people into making such an insane, dangerous decision'. One strand of 'thinking', if it can be called that, is that provoking Russia toward nuclear war will deter China from further aggression against America or allies.
I guess only time will tell...