I WAS
READING news and viewing vids the other day and realized there was a story that
is being under-reported—virtually ignored—in MSM outlets. It’s the one written
by Pulitzer Prize winning investigative journalist, Seymour Hersh, and it concerns the destruction of the Nord Stream-2 gas
pipeline in September of last year. Last week, Hersh, who is 85, published on
his Substack* column the results of his
investigations into the ‘mysterious’ bombing. Almost as important as Hersh’s
findings is the resounding silence that abounds around most major news outlets in terms of coverage or commentary about his article. It's mostly crickets out there. One
reviewer of the exposé states:
“This
article, which has been met with total silence in the major US publications,
has blown apart the entire narrative of US involvement in the war as a response
to “unprovoked Russian aggression.” It lifts the lid on far-reaching plans to
use the escalating conflict with Russia to solidify US economic and military
domination over Europe… Planning for the attack began in December 2021, months
before the Russian invasion of Ukraine.” (Andre Damon,WSW)
HERSH’S
INVESTIGATION ADDS FLESH TO THE BONES of the official narrative that the
destruction was indeed the result of sabotage and that likely it was done by a major
Western power, though which one “cannot be identified”.+
Investigations after the explosion by Denmark, Sweden and Germany concluded
that a bomb was the cause of the gas line rupture, and that it was done by some group
or government with the resources necessary to accomplish the technically
challenging task of engineering an underwater detonation. Initially, Western
governments, especially the U.S. and Britain, claimed it was Russia that
blew up pipeline! This absurd trope was repeated time and again in MSM publications,
in the weeks after the bombing and as recently as last
week, for example.
HERSH
CLAIMS it WAS THE UNITED STATES that blew up the pipeline, helped by its
erstwhile toady ally, Norway. Through various sources, the veteran
reporter provides a detailed account of how and who and when and why the gas
pipeline between Russia and Germany was blown up. The damaged section lay off the coast of Bornholm, a Danish island in the Baltic Sea, at
a depth of one-hundred and ten metres. SOME
revelations came as no surprise, but there were some pieces of the puzzle Hersh
provides that were surprising:
IT WAS
SURPRISING to learn that planning for this operation began in earnest
in December of 2021, two months before the Russian invasion. We recall the back and forth that occurred between the German government and
White House over bringing the Nord Stream-2 pipeline online, prior to this time.
Intense political pressure was put on the Scholz administration to cancel the pipeline and stop Russian gas flowing into Europe. Germany, it should be remembered, was heavily invested in the Nord
Stream project along with a number of other European countries. Cancelling or tying up
the inaugural flow of Russian gas hurt them financially. IN OTHER WORDS,
stopping Nord Stream-2 never came about as a response to Putin’s invasion; actions to stop the pipeline occurred well before any hint of Russian military buildup. Point is: There
were other reasons for stopping it.
"There
was a vital bureaucratic reason for relying on the graduates of the center’s
hardcore diving school in Panama City. The divers were Navy only, and not
members of America’s Special Operations Command, whose covert operations must
be reported to Congress….” (Hersh)
 |
| Perp Pics: Nuland, Blinken, Sullivan |
"O, we few, we happy few, we band of brothers!" We know! The biggest "tell" for us is the fact that no proof was forthcoming from the joint investigation conducted by Sweden, Denmark and Germany that demonstrated Russian culpability. None. Nada. Nyet. If there had been proof, you know they would be shouting it from the rooftops. The investigators silence and their refusal to make public their findings stinks of a cover-up. So, when in doubt, dear reader, follow the money. Cui bono. ("Who benefits") Sigh. We all know who benefits.
ANOTHER "tell" is the fact that the principals named in Hersh's piece have not made public denials of their involvement. Only low level spokespersons, whose job it is to obfuscate or otherwise massage the truth, have issued denials. Why haven't members from the 'Gang of Four' and the director of the CIA personally gone on record to officially deny their involvement? What are they afraid of? More questions perhaps?
IT IS PROBABLY A SAFE BET that
other European countries or politicians knew beforehand of the planned bombing. For example, the Green Party Foreign Minister of Germany, Annalena
Baerbock, was an ardent anti-pipeliner for environmental reasons. Did
she know? Was she informed by her Washington counterparts? And did British Prime Minister-for-a-Day,
Liz Truss have advanced knowledge of the bombing? Her
strange “It’s done” text message to American Sec. of State Blinken, immediately
following the blast, begs the question of British complicity in the caper. Were
there others who knew besides Norway? I find it hard to believe that Sweden, Denmark and Finland were kept in the dark over
this, but we'll have to wait for further investigations.
IT IS REFRESHING to learn there
has been, of late, more discussion in Germany around German-Russian relations,
energy security, and the humiliation of being cajoled and arm-twisted by its so-called allies into adopting harsher anti-Russian policies. One German parliamentarian asks for a discussion in the Bundestag in the wake of the Hersh revelations:
“In Germany, which jointly funded the
construction of the Nord Stream pipelines, members of the AfD party demanded a
discussion on the [Hersh] article and its claims in the country’s parliament on Friday. ‘The Bundestag has a right to know what
the federal government knows,’ said the party’s official Twitter account,
citing parliamentary group leader Tino Chrupalla.” (Counter Currents)
MEANWHILE, the cabal of neocons-in-the-know in Washington, were ecstatic over their
successful act of war action, as revealed in Blinken’s “opportunity” comments made the day after the
September 26 blast. And later, there was Victoria Nuland's self-congratulatory, ‘cat's-got-the-cream’ comment made last month during a Senate hearing. Her words speak for themselves:
"I
am, and I think the administration is, very gratified to know that Nord Stream-2 is now, as you like to say, a hunk of metal at the bottom of the sea."
I’M SURE Prez Biden, a neocon in all but name, was well-informed of the progress of the caper by his National Security Advisor and co-conspirator, Jake “The Snake” Sullivan who
would, no doubt, wake the Commander-in-Chief from his noon-time nap with regular updates. ACCORDING TO HERSH, Biden, who was in charge of all things Ukraine when he was
VP during the Obama presidency, played a key role in devising the bomb
plan, as well as giving it the green light. That's good, isn't it? That our leaders can
operate so well in the dark, I mean—efficiently, effectively, without oversight or having to stay
within the guardrails of messy, democratic laws and institutions. Who needs cooperation
when you can start a conspiracy? It’s double-plus-good all round. But, at the same time, it's double-plus-ungood because our leaders are a bunch of knaves, ne’er-do-wells and grifters! Just sayin’.
THE HERSH
EXPOSÉ reveals how a small group of elected and unelected officials can
circumvent the law and act with impunity, crafting one “black-ops”
operation after another. The destruction of billions of dollars of another nation’s
critical infrastructure would, in normal times, be considered a
declaration of war.
But, I would be surprised if any of the major players or their familiars are held to account for their actions. Like the Ukraine War, which may be entering its final phase as Russia prepares its spring offensive, the Nord Stream bombing will probably be memory-holded and forgotten as Washington shifts its focus to Taiwan and China. There is some hope, however, if journalists like Seymour Hersh continue to be able to speak truth to power. It will be better still if they and we can speak power to power, and challenge political elites directly. That's what you're supposed to do in a democracy. Isn't it? Not just put up and shut up.
Cheers,
Jake.
________________________________________
* SUBSTACK is a web hosting service that allows writers
to publish material free from editorial oversight and control. It has
a subscription-based financing whereby readers pay an annual fee, with Substack
receiving a percentage and the balance going to support the independent
journalists in its roster. Hersh’s
column can be accessed via the “Free Subscription” option, though, of course,
supporting independent journalism with paid subscriptions provides a source of income for
writers to continue publishing their work. Such formats allow alternative
voices to be heard amid the dribbling dross that is the senile shit-storm of main-stream news.
+ THE FINDINGS of the three-country inquiry were not made public because there were “fears of
sharing sensitive information related to national security.” (BBC, 18/10/22) In other
words, the investigators are attempting to “memory-hole” the incident and
obfuscate the facts. In the days and weeks following the explosion, their aim, along with most MSM news outlets, was to shift blame onto Russia in a logic-pretzel
of mendacious mindfukery:
They tried, in vain, to make the case that Russia blew up its own
eleven-billion dollar pipeline! The illogic of this claim, its fundamental absurdity, is astounding! I guess turning the taps off would be too difficult in the event the Russians wanted to stop natural gas flows to Europe. Give me a break! We all know who did it!
1. THESE HIGH RANKING administration officials, along with a small coterie of loyal staff,
put their plan into operation. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the
veiled threats made by Nuland and Biden at the time, the CIA
was called in to coordinate logistics and communications with Norwegian
authorities:
“The
CIA argued that whatever was done, it would have to be covert. Everyone
involved understood the stakes. ‘This is not kiddie stuff,’ the source said. If
the attack were traceable to the United States, ‘It’s an act of war.’” (Hersh)
2. Ms.
Nuland, it will be remembered has long been the ‘Ukraine-whisperer’ for various
cabals of neo-cons within American political
elite. She was the Assistant Secretary of State during the Trump presidency and
famously had her phone tapped where her conversation with the American
ambassador to Ukraine was recorded. “Fuck the EU” was her response to the
European Union and its apparent tardiness in confronting Russia. The 2013-14 Maidan coup, which she helped organize, ousted
the democratically-elected Ukrainian President (who was corrupt, but aren’t they all?) He had the unfortunate character flaw of desiring friendlier relations with Russia. This was deemed unacceptable by Ukraine-expert Nuland, who lobbied then-U.S. President Obama, for the go-ahead to coup the place. Protests, violence, colour revolutions and
regime change followed. All the usual folderol of empire, these days.
AMID the protests against the removal by force of President Viktor
Yanukovych, who fled to Russia, snap elections were held to install a pro-EU puppet-pick.
“Yats is our guy,” Nuland proclaimed in the infamous phone call. In 2014, “Yats”
was Arseny Yatsenyuk, who formed the Ukraine government as Prime Minister. He
was strong EU supporter and compliant American puppet. The lady is quite the operator! BTW, she’s married to Robert Kagan who is arguably
the intellectual fountainhead of American neoconservatism. Ain’t love grand!
3. Alexander
Mecouris, in a recent YouTube podcast, gave an
excellent definition of neoconservatism:
“Neocons
are not conservatives, not in any true sense. They are radical, a radical,
revolutionary movement which wants to involve the United States in a program of
exporting their concepts of revolution right around the world. They are not
conservatives—they are the opposite of conservatives. (At the 4:36 minute mark.)
4. EUROPE
received 45% of its natural gas from Russia before the conflict, with Germany
the largest consumer.
WEBSITES OF
INTEREST:
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| FEBRUARY CRINGE PHOTO OF THE MONTH |
he's so close!
His aftershave,
his manly smell.
I feel vulnerable
& delicate!
All I can think:
Viva La France!
What happens in Paris
Stays in Paris.
(Diary: 8/2/22)
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