Above Photo: Financial Times from Petroleum Economist.
Who benefits from the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines which connect Germany to natural gas in Russia?
The U.S. has the means, motive, and opportunity and was publicly opposed to the project for many years. Yet the crime victims are strangely silent about identifying the probable perpetrator.
“And ultimately this is also a tremendous opportunity. It’s a tremendous opportunity to once and for all remove the dependence on Russian energy and thus to take away from Vladimir Putin the weaponization of energy as a means of advancing his imperial designs. That’s very significant and that offers tremendous strategic opportunity for the years to come…” – Secretary of State Antony Blinken
On September 26, 2022 both the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines were damaged in an explosion which spewed natural gas into the Baltic Sea between Sweden and Poland. There was never any serious consideration that the cause was accidental. Sabotage was immediately suspected.
Of course, the United States blamed Russia, but Russia has no reason to sabotage the Nord Stream 2 pipeline which they spent millions of dollars building, only to have it go unused after what it calls its special military operation in Ukraine. The United States was vehemently opposed to the project and the Trump and Biden administrations publicly said as much many times.
When Germany’s chancellor, Olof Scholz , visited Washington in February of this year Joe Biden publicly said that the U.S. would “bring an end” to Nord Stream 2 if Russia crossed the border with Ukraine. In his odd way, Biden again gave the game away. The instigation of the Ukraine crisis was meant to shut the project and sanction Russia.
Of course, Germany and other European countries depend on Russian natural gas, but the U.S. has a solution. Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), fracked gas, produced in the U.S. is presented as the substitute. The idea of ending Nord Stream 2 killed two birds with one stone, hurting Russia and helping the U.S. fracking industry all at the same time.
The disruption to Europe’s energy markets caused prices to soar and Europeans to bitterly complain. Before the pipeline explosion Germans took to the streets demanding that their government’s sanctions policy be jettisoned and their fuel supplies returned to normal. Shortly after the protest demands became quite vocal, the pipeline exploded.
One would think that Europeans would be outraged to see their already limited energy supply cut even further but they are strangely quiet. Sweden announced that it wouldn’t participate in a Joint Investigative Team because of fears that national security would be compromised. That’s a strange position to take considering that a terror attack took place near that country.
The countries involved are more than likely silent because they know that their super power ally, the United States, was involved in the sabotage. They murmur about Russia being the culprit but they also know that makes no logical sense whatsoever.
Europe is under the thumb of the United States, which is determined to turn allies into impoverished vassal states. France is suffering from fuel shortages created by sanctions against Russia and a general strike has been called. Italians are also protesting high fuel prices and are calling for an end to that country’s EU and NATO memberships. But these governments dare not complain.
The U.S. runs a protection racket not unlike that of its infamous organized criminal gangs. The state is reminiscent of characters in the movie Goodfellas, who promised partnerships with local businesses only to loot them and then set them on fire. The Biden administration is akin to a mafioso boss. European governments do nothing but grovel out of fear, which is just what the criminal gang wants.
The truth of U.S. “partnerships” with allies has been revealed as a gigantic fraud. In reality these countries are living under occupation and now there is no pretense that they will be treated any differently from other countries living under U.S. control. Germany, Italy, Spain, Poland, and the UK all have U.S. troops stationed on their soil. Germany has gold reserves held by the Federal Reserves. They are not truly independent and the Nord Stream sabotage shows it.
Russia isn’t the only country the U.S. is trying to weaken. The hegemon has come out of the closet. It has no friends, only enemies and puppets and all end up being treated badly. Europe went along with the scam only to see the ruble rise in value and the euro decline. It turned out that Russia had a strong economy while the Europeans were very weak.
The war in Ukraine isn’t going their way either. Russia has mobilized thousands of new troops and is shelling Ukrainian infrastructure at will. The tables have turned in every respect.
Europe is like an abused wife, living in fear but not knowing how to leave her tormentor. The Biden administration’s team of foreign policy incompetents blow up pipelines in desperation and don’t think about the consequences. American LNG firms will make a killing, but Russia may carve up Ukraine. Europe will be much worse off.
Of course, Biden and company do not behave in a predictable or rational manner. No one knows what they will do. If they would sabotage pipelines, they might also make good on Biden’s outbursts about nuclear war. Their desperation and criminality have brought the entire world to the brink.