A special analysis as geopolitical tensions increase
Jefferey Jaxen
JeffereJjaxen.substack.com
On February 8th veteran American, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Seymour Hersh published an unavoidable story. In it, he chronicled how the Biden Administration plotted and then executed the destruction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. Hersh writes: “Last June, the Navy divers, operating under the cover of a widely publicized mid-summer NATO exercise known as BALTOPS 22, planted the remotely triggered explosives that, three months later, destroyed three of the four Nord Stream pipelines, according to a source with direct knowledge of the operational planning.”
Hersh’s high-level sources and investigation filled in the gaps of what many have hypothesized about American involvement in the pipeline explosion. Yet in the age of short social media attention spans and increasing severity of newsworthy events, Hersh’s information was quickly absconded – but only briefly.
The White House and U.S. military apparatus seized on a Chinese spy balloon narrative, captivating the eyes of Americans, to abruptly pivot to the UFO threat narrative. The media checkmate proved too much for Hersh’s sole written story – damning as his information may have been. Yet after a week of the UFO beta test on Americans, seeing the White House and military being purposely vague on what objects were being intercepted by our Air Force in the skies above, both White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierreand and Biden himself put to rest the idea of visitors from another planet or dimension.
America’s Nord Stream Sabotage story, waiting patiently in the wings, was free to fly. Making the media rounds and sticking to his story appearing on Democracy Now, the Stay Free podcast with Russell Brand, and other networks, Hersh went to work.
In what is being called ‘deconstructing the obvious’ Hersh puts the missing pieces together to paint a dire picture for both the Biden Administration and the millstone it has cast around the neck of America on the geopolitical stage with its kinetic action on the pipeline.
On September 27, 2022, the explosives attached to the Nord Stream pipeline were detonated. The New York Times called it a mystery and asked “was it Russia?”
A month later, Sweden confirmed sabotage finding explosive traces at Nord Stream blast sites. The hunt was on for the culprit. Yet, as Hersh points out, both U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland and shortly after, Biden himself both threatened to ‘put an end’ to the pipeline weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine On February 24, 2022. “The direct route, which bypassed any need to transit Ukraine, had been a boon for the German economy, which enjoyed an abundance of cheap Russian natural gas—enough to run its factories and heat its homes while enabling German distributors to sell excess gas, at a profit, throughout Western Europe. Action that could be traced to the administration would violate US promises to minimize direct conflict with Russia. Secrecy was essential.” wrote Hersh.
Nord Stream is a holding company based in Switzerland with Russia’s Gazprom controlling a 51 percent share of the company. “…four European energy firms—one in France, one in the Netherlands, and two in Germany—sharing the remaining 49 percent of the stock, and having the right to control downstream sales of the inexpensive natural gas to local distributors in Germany and Western Europe.” Explains Hersh.
Now that the story is getting worldwide attention, geopolitical alliances are now being clearly seen. Naturally, Russia came forward immediately and demanded NATO hold an emergency meeting to discuss the recent findings surrounding the pipeline explosions. “We consider this incident an act of international terrorism that warrants a comprehensive and independent investigation,” Igor Girenko, the spokesman for the Russian embassy in Washington said. He urged Washington to “at least try to prove that they were not involved in the destruction of the gas pipelines.”
China quickly followed suit with its Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin saying during a press briefing on Thursday. “The sabotage of the natural gas routes last September had a major economic and environmental impact and caused global concern over the safety of cross-border infrastructure…” China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is currently the largest geo-economic initiative, involving 140 countries. It was upset due to the Russian-Ukraine war due to the fact that from the Chinese perspective the Russian landmass was the most reliable route to the European Union market. An Executive Summary in 2021 by the Council on Foreign Relations stated: “The Belt and Road Initiative, Chinese President Xi Jinping’s signature foreign policy undertaking and the world’s largest infrastructure program, poses a significant challenge to U.S. economic, political, climate change, security, and global health interests.”
Neutralizing the Nord Stream pipelines hampered both the Russian cash flow/power base and the EU’s cheap, stable energy source. It will be in both China and Russia’s best interest to form deeper alliances to maximize the BRI but also to challenge a waning American geopolitical power base.
The American operation to destroy the pipeline was based out of Norway with, according to Hersh’s sources, with help from both the Norwegian Secret Service and its Navy
“In the past few years of East-West crisis, the U.S. military has vastly expanded its presence inside Norway…The Pentagon has created high paying jobs and contracts, amid some local controversy, by investing hundreds of millions of dollars to upgrade and expand American Navy and Air Force facilities in Norway.” writes Harsh.
Aside from the alliance, Norway had a domestic incentive to assist America in the pipeline attack. The headlines now read Norway replaces Russia as Germany’s top gas supplier.
“On February 7, less than three weeks before the seemingly inevitable Russian invasion of Ukraine, Biden met in his White House office with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who, after some wobbling, was now firmly on the American team.” Writes Hersh.
Much like Washington’s response, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s lack of reaction to the report has lawmakers in his country demanding answers.
Outside of Russia, German, and the entire European Union arguably suffered the most from the deactivated pipeline. Headlines read lights out, ovens off: Europe preps for winter energy crisis as it entered into an uncertain 2022 winter days before the Nord Stream explosion. Months after headlines out of German read ’Over half’ of Germans heating homes less or not at all.”
Current headlines show the true cost of Europe’s energy hit starting Europe Has Spent €792 Billion To Shield Citizens From Energy Crisis. “Germany was by far the biggest spender, splashing out nearly €270bn since September 2021” states research from the think tank Bruegel.
The Biden Administration’s action signaled in the strongest way possible to the people of Europe that they are dispensable.
German AfD Co-chairman Tino Chrupalla called for an investigation of Hersh’s report and, if found to be true, demanded Germany “take dramatic action” by expelling U.S. troops from its country. Maximilian Krah of the German AfD party stated: “The problem is that this is tearing the German economy to pieces and significantly impoverishes Germany. Moreover, the billions spent by Germany on this gas project, which ensured us cheap energy, are lost, but the coalition which governs Germany does not care…”
European MP’s are also voicing their concerns: Kanekoa.substack.com European MP Clare Daly condemns US attack on Nord Stream: “Then along comes Seymour Hersh, the world’s most acclaimed living investigative journalist. He produces a detailed claim that the United States executed this explosion with Norway.”
Meanwhile, not one of the usual press-seeking eco-warriors, from Al Gore to Greta, sounded the alarm despite the release of record amounts of leaked methane and CO2 emissions from the defunct pipeline.
“The Haber-Bosch process, which converts hydrogen and nitrogen to ammonia, could be one of the most important industrial chemical reactions ever developed. The process made ammonia fertilizer widely available, helping cause a world population boom as yields from agriculture increased rapidly in a short time.”, writes Chemical and Engineering News.
Over the past year, we have seen a global war to cut fertilizer use go mainstream, from the Netherlands to Canada, governments have never before seen aggressive action against farmers to shut down food products. The fertilized story is woven into the pipeline story here.
A full month before the alleged American sabotage of the Nord Stream pipeline, fertilizer manufacturers were already sounding the alarm. Polish chemical firm Grupa Azoty was forced to halt production of fertilizers due to high gas prices. In the same vein, one week before the pipeline explosion, Norway’s Yara, one of the world’s largest fertilizer producers, announced it was halting its Belgian fertilizer unit also citing soaring gas prices.
Aggressive climate initiatives to lower the standard of living while de-industrializing economies have been shunned and essentially ignored by Russia and paid someday-maybe lip service to by China on the world stage. The pipeline sabotage has the ability to deal a further blow to Europe’s sovereign fertilizer production.
If Hersh’s info holds true, prepare for more high-level distractions from all conceivable angles to keep the story out of the news cycle. If more evidence is discovered to accept this story as true, it could be the aligning event needed to allow Russia, China and their allies to formally draw sides against America setting the stage for escalating conflict.