The exposure has been denied by the Empire. But does anyone believe the denial? Not today, none. People across the world have come across such denials many times, and each time all the denials turned out to be lies.
The latest denial is related to the incident of explosion in the Nord Stream pipelines.
The famous journalist Seymour Hersh’s investigation found that the US destroyed the Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea in a covert operation.
Citing a source with direct knowledge of the planning of the operation, the legendary investigative reporter, said in an article:
Explosives were planted at the pipelines in June 2022. It was planted by US Navy divers. The job of planting explosives was carried on under the guise of a NATO exercise named BALTOPS22.
Hersh presented the findings in an article posted on February 8, 2023 in his Substack.
The reporter’s findings said that the explosives were detonated on September 26, 2022 with a signal from a sonar buoy. The buoy was dropped near the pipelines by a surveillance plane of the Norwegian Navy.
The planning for the job was initiated in December 2021. A task force was set up, in which US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan participated.
The Pulitzer prize-winning reporter said he had reached out to the White House and the CIA, seeking comments on his finding. Both firmly rejected Hersh’s findings. The finding was termed “completely and utterly false” and “false and complete fiction”.
Hersh, famous for his exposure of the 1968 My Lai Massacre committed by US soldiers in Vietnam that brought him the Pulitzer in 1970, said in the article:
As long as Europe remained dependent on the pipelines for cheap natural gas, Washington was afraid that countries like Germany would be reluctant to supply Ukraine with money and weapons it needed to defeat Russia.
He wrote:
US President Joe Biden’s Administration was focused on jeopardizing the Nord Stream. First, it was through sanctions; and then, sabotage. The Nord Stream appeared as a key to swaying Europe to its cause amid then-looming conflict in Ukraine.
Hersh — well reputed for his exposure of other political scandals including the US covert bombing of Cambodia, the CIA’s illegal domestic spying, and the US military’s torture and abuse of prisoners in Iraq — detailed the sabotage operation, the planning and logistical considerations carried out among the White House, the US military, and the CIA. A major part of the planning was wiping out signs of the US’ involvement.
The sabotage operation’s stakes were high was clear to all involved with the operation.
According to the journalist’s source, the operation was actually an act of war, and some officials were in favor of dropping the idea of sabotage.
The Nord Stream’s possible role in Europe was clear to all including the Empire. It was opposed by the Empire from the very beginning of the project. Nonetheless, Russia completed construction of the significant pipelines. US Empire refused to permit the pipelines to function. Russia pointed out this part of the explosion incident: Who benefits from failure of the pipelines?
A few developments after the Nord Stream explosion are well reported. These include SMS from Ms. Liz Truss, then PM of the UK: “It’s done”. Another was one official’s saying: The US was doing everything possible to stop Nord Stream. After completion of setting up of the pipeline, it was also told: We’re going to get rid of it.
What was done? What step was taken to stop the pipeline? The questions lead to actors intolerant with the pipeline.
After the exposure by Hersh, Snowden, the famous whistleblower, in a tweet briefly mentioned the Bay of Pigs incident.
Snowden referred to a 1961-news report, in which Dean Rusk, then US secretary of state, denied that the Bay of Pigs incident was staged from the US soil. But later, it was exposed that the Bay of Pigs operation was a CIA organized operation to overthrow Fidel’s revolutionary government in Cuba.
File photo taken on 5 February 2003, US Secretary of State Colin Powell holds up a vial that he said was the size that could be used to hold anthrax as he addresses the UN Security Council in New York. (Photo by Timothy A. Clary / AFP)
There are other famous lies by the empire. These include the poison-vial story that asserted Iraqi President Saddam Hussein had lethal chemical weapons. This was told on the UN podium with then-US Secretary of State Colin Powell waving a vial as proof of the chemical weapon. There are plenty of lies related to the Empire’s Vietnam War.
After these practices, the Empire calls upon all to follow rules-based world order, and have trust on its words. But who shall believe the Empire?
Even, the Empire’s proxies do not trust their master. They know the Empire would dump them at any opportune moment – when the Empire’s necessity so demands. This was experienced in many countries, including South Vietnam.
The Nord Stream sabotage exposure again exposes the “mainstream” media. The report exposing the sabotage has been ignored by the MSM, although, immediately after the explosion, the MSM placed blame on Russia.
Will it be possible to hush facts if further exposures of the sabotage follow? Will not continued silence or denials erode trust further? Powerful propaganda with participation of the MSM will not be able to stop this erosion of trust.
Following the sabotage exposure, Russia has demanded an international investigation of the incident. But, it is assumed that this demand will go unheeded. Immediately after the explosion, Russia had pointed to involvement of the US-UK in the sabotage. That went unheeded.
With this world order, the imperialist practice of marketing lies undoubtedly will continue. People, especially peoples in lands destroyed by imperialism, will not believe these lies, as their experiences always question statements from imperialist sources.
The Nord Stream sabotage shows a dangerous aspect: A powerful actor can sabotage any other initiative by any country if the initiative is considered harmful to the powerful actor’s interest. All countries will reflect upon this aspect, concerned for their safety should they try to leave the Empire’s orbit. It’s a characteristic of this world order.
However, it will be questioned: Is this the rules-based world order? It is no doubt a rules-based order, but the rule is the Empire’s rule, and the order is the empire order.
The post Does Anyone Believe the US’s Denial of Carrying out the Nord Stream Pipeline Sabotage? first appeared on Dissident Voice.
This content originally appeared on Dissident Voice and was authored by Farooque Chowdhury.