US Blew Up Nord Stream to Reduce Russia's Influence on Germany: Journalist Hersh

The administration of US President Joe Biden decided to sabotage the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines due to concerns over potential loss of influence in Germany and Western Europe, driven by the availability of inexpensive Russian gas, said Seymour Hersh, an American journalist and Pulitzer Prize winner.

"The Biden administration blew up the pipelines but the action had little to do with winning or stopping the war in Ukraine. It resulted from fears in the White House that Germany would waver and turn on the flow of Russia gas—and that Germany and then NATO, for economic reasons, would fall under the sway of Russia and its extensive and inexpensive natural resources. And thus followed the ultimate fear: that America would lose its long-standing primacy in Western Europe," Hersh wrote in an article published on Substack.

The Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 pipelines, which export Russian gas to Europe, were damaged on September 26 last year. Germany, Denmark, and Sweden have not ruled out intentional sabotage. Nord Stream AG, the pipeline operator, reported that the damage is unprecedented and it is impossible to determine the timeframe for repairing the pipelines.

Following the incident, the Russian Prosecutor General's Office has initiated an investigation into an alleged act of international terrorism.

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According to the American journalist, preparation for the destruction of the gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea took US Navy experts several months. He noted that the two qualified US Navy deep-sea divers contracted for the job needed months of research and practice in the choppy waters of the Baltic Sea.

"It took months of research and practice in the churning waters of the Baltic Sea by the two expert US Navy deep sea divers recruited for the mission before it was deemed a go. Norway’s superb seamen found the right spot for planting the bombs that would blow up the pipelines," he said.

The journalist stated that reports on the operation in Norway aimed at sabotaging the Nord Stream pipelines were exclusively sent to the head of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), William Burns, who was in direct contact with President Biden. He further explained that Burns stayed in touch with the individuals planning the attack and the US president, functioning as the sole intermediary between the two parties.

"The White House was isolated from the goings-on near Oslo; various reports and updates from the field were directly provided to CIA Director Bill Burns, who was the only link between the planners and the president who authorized the mission to take place on September 26, 2022," the journalist said.

Citing an unnamed official with knowledge of the mission, Hersh pointed out that the CIA interpreted US President Joe Biden's ambiguous directives regarding the Nord Stream pipelines as "a strategic step toward World War III."

The journalist further elaborated that the decision to destroy the pipelines was made by the United States due to their vulnerability and the fact that the allegations of sabotage could be easily denied.

"The administration put Nord Stream on the table because it was the only one we could access and it would be totally deniable," he wrote, quoting the official.

No significant information about the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines bombing mission was uploaded onto computers, and those responsible left no traces behind, according to Hersh. The operation's critical information was typed using either a Royal or Smith Corona typewriter, and after the explosion, all paper records related to the mission were destroyed.

"Once the mission was completed, the typed papers and carbons were destroyed, thus leaving no physical trace—no evidence to be dug up later by a special prosecutor or a presidential historian. You could call it the perfect crime," Hersh said.

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On February 8, the American journalist published his investigation stating that explosive devices were planted under the Russian gas pipelines in June 2022 during the Baltops exercise by US Navy divers with the support of Norwegian specialists. According to Hersh, the decision on the operation was made by US President Joe Biden following nine months of discussions with the country's administration officials involved in national security issues. Later, the Pentagon told Sputnik that the United States was not involved in the explosion of the pipelines.