New York Times Claims ‘Pro-Ukrainian’ Group Sabotaged Nord Stream Pipelines

If you are a conspiracy theorist or a fan of international intrigue and mystery, then perhaps the biggest Golden Egg is the question: Who sabotaged the Nord Stream pipelines?

Last September, explosions rocked the Baltic Sea, decimating the Russian pipelines that would deliver fuel to Germany had they not invaded Ukraine.

Initially, fingers bizarrely pointed at Russia because the Russian government would naturally teach the world a lesson by blowing up their pipeline that would provide massive amounts of revenue. Russia countered that this was an attack orchestrated by elements in the West.

So who did it? Was it Russia, the Ukrainians, the United States, the Brits, or rogue underwater vigilantes? The New York Times published a piece this week alleging that it could be a ‘pro-Ukrainian’ group that detonated the explosives that burst Russia’s pipelines.

ICYMI: German authorities said they searched a vessel that may have transported explosives used in the attack on the Nord Stream pipelines last year https://t.co/gSFVRvkl2e pic.twitter.com/DRr8szHWU0

— Bloomberg Quicktake (@Quicktake) March 10, 2023

Unnamed Officials

The New York Times article primarily used the information they had received from, you guessed it… anonymous, unnamed U.S. officials. The piece opens up with, “New intelligence reviewed by U.S officials suggests that a pro-Ukrainian group carried out the attack on the Nord Stream pipelines last year, a step toward determining responsibility for an act of sabotage that has confounded investigators on both sides of the Atlantic for months.”

What department are these U.S. officials from? Your guess is as good as mine, dear reader, but aren’t we and the rest of the world lucky that the United States has finally made strides toward solving this mystery?

The piece continues, “U.S. officials said there was much they did not know about the perpetrators and their affiliations.” However, they knew they were “opponents of President Vladimir Putin.”

Now that’s interesting; you don’t know much about these explosive men of mystery, except you know for sure that they don’t like Putin.

“U.S. officials declined to disclose the nature of the intelligence, how it was obtained, or any details of the strength of the evidence it contains.”

Yet, the New York Times still published this flimsy information. I can see it now, unnamed U.S. official in a sharp suit meets New York Times reporters somewhere discreet to say something like “Look, I got a great scoop for you, we have intel that says a pro-Ukrainian group blew up Nord Stream, but the intel is sparse, and I won’t tell you anything else about it.”

I mean, damn, how can you not jump on that juicy lede?

Tulsi Gabbard and Tucker Carlson discuss Biden sending F-16s to Zelensky and the “pro-Ukrainian group” that sabotaged the Nord Stream pipeline:

“It is so obvious at this point that the United States and NATO are responsible for this act of sabotage and act of war attacking and… https://t.co/Zo9eAVGf6R pic.twitter.com/XTXO2JMqLi

— kanekoa.substack.com (@KanekoaTheGreat) March 10, 2023

Our Fault… But Not Really

Perhaps the best part of this ridiculous New York Times article is this next bit which was clearly the goal of the U.S. officials, to distract from the latest and ongoing chatter that this was a western operation. “Officials who have reviewed the intelligence said they believed the saboteurs were most likely Ukrainian or Russian nationals, or some combination of the two.”

Because that makes sense that Ukrainians and Russians would work together on anything. What a lovely sentiment.

How embarrassing for Putin if it was Russian nationals; what an excellent narrative that Putin is losing his grip on his constituents so much so that they would sabotage the pipeline. The officials went on to make sure to add that “no American or British nationals were involved.”

Gee, for not knowing much from this intelligence, these U.S. officials seem confident on some key points. The article goes on to reveal that these U.S. officials believe that the explosives “were most likely planted with the help of experienced divers who did not appear to be working for military or intelligence services.”

Again, that’s an awfully detailed leap for hazy intelligence. Here’s the cherry on top of this government intelligence leak, “it is possible that the perpetrators received specialized government training in the past.”

Oh boy, it’s getting pretty thick in here.

To whoever is doing the Nord Stream cover-up: first, I don’t envy you. Tough job. Second, why not find a bigger boat, one that could conceivably carry the hundreds of pounds of explosives needed to blow up a heavily fortified deep-sea pipeline in multiple areas? https://t.co/iEye8N1wbH

— Aaron Maté (@aaronjmate) March 10, 2023

Timing is Everything

Interestingly, this New York Times piece came out about a month after another scathing, much more detailed article was published by one of their former journalists. Acclaimed investigative journalist Seymour Hersh published a report in his Substack newsletter alleging that U.S. Navy divers planted explosives under the direction of the CIA with the passive assistance of the Norwegian government.

Mr. Hersh states that we orchestrated this operation under the ruse of a NATO exercise, BALTOPS 22. The source Mr. Hersh had for his article was an anonymous one, which is primarily what mainstream outlets used to try to discredit his work.

Suppose you need to familiarize yourself with Mr. Hersh’s previous work. In that case, Sy is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist known for exposing government cover-ups such as the My Lai massacre during the Vietnam War. However, in his latest years, he’s been widely criticized for his reliance on ‘unnamed sources’ backing up some pretty hefty accusations, including this recent one surrounding the pipelines.

It seems a bit like the pot calling the kettle black. Mainstream media, particularly his prior employer, The New York Times, loves to jump on unnamed sources.

When asked about The New York Times article’s credibility, Hersh stated, “I don’t want to get into it. You should decide for yourself. It’s up to you.”

When the piece broke, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said, “It is not true. The United States, and no proxies of the United States had anything to do with that, nothing.”

Now, a month later, U.S. officials claim to be able to confirm that, albeit unable to confirm anything else.

NATO’s Nord Stream disinformation campaign to muddle up Hersh’s scoop is getting so ridiculous I’m starting to wonder if this is the point—keep dropping fake new details more implausible than the last as a way of redirecting the discourse to pure absurdity. Like irl trolling. https://t.co/6r2Gg7K9mm

— Mark Ames (@MarkAmesExiled) March 9, 2023

The Art of Government Deception

Deception is a skill utilized by all major governments and their military apparatuses. This New York Times piece is a perfect example of this subterfuge at work.

Find a reporter and an outlet favorable to publishing what we want, leak just enough intelligence or manufacture said intelligence, and wait for the free press to execute the information fake out. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov rightly argued that this article was “a coordinated spread of disinformation in the media.”

After 25 years in the CIA: https://t.co/FwGECyh9dl

— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) February 13, 2023

They would know, according to the Democrats and our government, the Kremlin is the expert on disinformation. Mr. Peskov went on to state that this was a “coordinated fake news media campaign” orchestrated by those who attacked the pipeline in an effort to “divert attention.”

While I think Mr. Peskov is correct, the question is, will this diversion work? It would require the European officials investigating the pipeline sabotage to play ball, and their willingness to do so is up in the air.

Publicly European officials have said that what they’ve found is that, more than likely, the attack was state-sponsored, which doesn’t fit this new narrative sold by these unnamed U.S. officials. Will we ever know who did it?

Doubtful. But it’s fair to say that the United States is easily a ‘pro-Ukrainian’ group, so perhaps we know the truth, or a watered-down, elusive version.

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The Political Insider

If you are a conspiracy theorist or a fan of international intrigue and mystery, then perhaps the biggest Golden Egg is the question: Who sabotaged the Nord Stream pipelines? Last September, explosions rocked the Baltic Sea, decimating the Russian pipelines that would deliver fuel to Germany had they not invaded Ukraine. Initially, fingers bizarrely pointed
The post New York Times Claims ‘Pro-Ukrainian’ Group Sabotaged Nord Stream Pipelines appeared first on The Political Insider.