Excerpts
The pipeline blew up because they were afraid of Germany withdrawing sanctions.
Hersh described new details of the sabotage in an interview with the Berliner Zeitung. According to him, Biden was afraid of Germany’s exit from the sanctions regime and therefore decided to do blow up the gas pipeline. “They were afraid of the coming winter,” Hersh said. “Since the implementation of the Nord Stream 2 project was suspended by Germany itself, and not by international sanctions, the United States was concerned that Germany would lift the sanctions due to winter cold.”
There were major disagreements in Washington over the conduct of the operation, notes the journalist. Many participants in the covert operation, who held “high positions in the secret service”, opposed this plan, “considering it insane
However, Biden would rather see Germany freeze than stop supporting Ukraine, Hersh said. “People who participated in the operation saw that the president was ready to freeze Germany in the name of his momentary political goals, and they were horrified by it.”
According to the reporter, in early February 2022, Biden told German Chancellor Olaf Scholz that he would “shut down” the pipeline. “However, he had no such plans at the time,” Hersh said.
Why was the sabotage postponed?
The sabotage was supposed to take place in June 2022, but it was postponed at the very last moment – due to the White House being “nervous”.
“But at the last moment, the White House got nervous. The president said he was afraid to do it. He changed his mind and demanded that the bomb could be detonated remotely at any time,” said the American journalist.
As a result, charges were placed on the gas pipelines in June, during NATO naval exercises in the Baltic Sea, and the decision to detonate was not made until September. Due to the explosives remaining underwater for too long, only six of the eight bombs exploded.
Hersh also explained why Norway decided to participate in the operation. According to him, Oslo wanted to increase gas supplies from Europe rather than Russian gas. Moreover, in Norway, many people in leadership positions feel hostility towards Russia.
How did the United States react to sabotage?
Hersh said many participants in the operation were against it. “Shortly after the attack, after doing as they were ordered, the participants in the operation felt a lot of anger and rejection. That’s one of the reasons I learned so much,” he explained. “It scares me that the president is ready for something like this,” the reporter said. – And the people who carried out this mission believed that the president was aware of what he was doing to the German people, whom he was punishing. And in the long run, it will not only damage his reputation as president, but also cause serious political damage. It will be a stigma for the United States.”
According to Hersh, even within the CIA, many were extremely unhappy with America’s treatment of its ally. “Even this community is horrified that Biden has chosen to expose Europe to the cold in order to support a conflict in which he will not win. For me, it’s disgusting, ”concluded the journalist.
