Last September, the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines exploded beneath the North Sea. The pipelines were designed to transport natural gas from Russia to Germany (Nord Stream 2 had not yet become operational, at the time of the explosion). Many suspected that Russia was responsible for the act of sabotage. Now, the veteran investigative reporter Seymour Hersh has claimed that a U.S. Navy team of divers based in Florida carried out the operation. […]
It is hard to believe that the U.S. would attack a civilian pipeline designed for peaceful uses by a NATO ally. But subsequent investigations have not incriminated Russia, who many initially assumed to be the culprit. A German government investigation has failed to find evidence of Russian culpability; Sweden found that the detonations constituted ”serious sabotage,” but did not accuse Russia.
Now, Hersh has entered the fray. Hersh, a Pulitzer Prize winner, claims that intelligence and military sources report the U.S. sabotaged the pipelines. Hersh has a long history of digging for U.S. military and national security secrets. Sometimes, his stories have been borne out; other times, they have not. But as Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) has said, Hersh’s recent claims cannot be ruled out. We do not yet know the truth. Läs artikel