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Tuesday, March 19, 2024 - 12:14 AM

INDEPENDENT CONSERVATIVE VOICE OF UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA

First Published in 1994

INDEPENDENT CONSERVATIVE VOICE OF
UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA

Unveiling the Bitter Weeds of Foreign Policy Insanity

Joe Biden Old Mug

President Joe Biden

On September 26, 2022, the Swedish National Seismic Institute recorded several explosions along the Nordstream 1 and 2 Pipelines southeast of the Danish Island Bornholm in the Baltic Sea. These explosions were approximately the magnitude of a thousand-pound bomb or torpedo and rendered three of the four 4-foot diameter natural gas pipelines inoperable for the foreseeable future. Nordstream 1 and 2 are each double pipelines stretching 759 and 767 miles from two Russian locations on the Gulf of Finland to northeastern Germany. Nordstream 1 had been pumping gas since 2011 and Nordstream 2 had just become operational but was not yet pumping gas. Nordstream 2 parallels Nordstream 1 to its south with a separation of less than one mile. The Baltic Sea depth on their track south of Bornholm is about 265 feet.  Nordstream 1 was already supplying 40 percent of Germany’s natural gas. The total cost of the pipelines was $25.4 billion, of which the Russian energy company Gazprom owned 51 percent or $13 billion in cost. German, Austrian, Swiss, Dutch, and British energy companies owned the other 49 percent, of which the heaviest share belonged to Germany.

Since both Under Secretary for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland on January 27 and President Joe Biden on February 9 had ominously threatened to “bring an end” to the pipelines if Russia invaded Ukraine, there has never been much doubt outside the most faithful liberal American and British media that the United States bore the main responsibility for the destruction. However, President Biden and his loyal media continually made ridiculous claims that the Russians blew up their own $13 billion dollar investment, ten-years of work, and cash-cow. If the Russians wanted to shut down gas to Germany, all they had to do was throw a switch, which they could easily turn back on and resume their highly profitable return. Russian financial profits  were high despite the fact that Russian gas was much cheaper than other resources.

The main motive for shutting down the pipelines was apparently to deter Germany from backing down on its commitment to support Ukraine against Russia and to eliminate its dependence on Russian natural gas. Germany had already foolishly eliminated most of its alternative nuclear and coal energy sources to pursue a “Green” political agenda.  German Chancellor Olof Scholz seemed to Victoria Nuland and others to be wobbling in favor of adequate heating and energy for the German people and industry rather than support for the Ukraine War. A January 19, 2023, ARD-Deutschland Poll indicated growing discomfort with the Ukraine War. Only 49 percent of Scholz’s own Social Democrats favor sending German Leopard tanks to Ukraine. The Greens are most supportive with 61 percent. The conservative Alternative for Germany Party showed 84 percent opposition.   

The Russian Federation did invade Ukraine on February 24, which NATO called “unprovoked,” although they had been provoking the Russians and threatening their national security by building a 700,000 Ukrainian Army at Russia’s doorstep since 2014, beginning with the Maidan Coup, in which an elected Ukrainian president had been replaced by a pro-Western president. The Russians were most perturbed by the prospect of hostile medium range missiles within six minutes of Moscow. Moreover, the Ukrainian Army had been warring against the two overwhelmingly Russian-speaking provinces of Ukraine in the Donbass (the breakaway Donetsk and Lugansk Republics). Over 14,000 people had been killed by March 2022 including over 4,000 civilians—mostly by Ukrainian artillery strikes on civilian areas. Other serious Ukrainian provocation, largely covered up by Western media, had been a program of discrimination against and ethnic cleansing of the large Russian-speaking minority in Ukraine. 

The Russians immediately suspected the Americans and British were responsible for the pipeline attack. Shortly thereafter, a highly respected American source in Russia, John Helmer—Dances with Bears--said Polish naval and special forces had been involved  and added that somehow Danish and Swedish surveillance of the pipelines had been evaded.

A few days ago, February 8, 2023, veteran independent investigative reporter, Seymour Hersh, published an article entitled, “How America Took Out the Nordstream Pipeline.” This added new evidence that the U.S. was the major planner and driver of the pipeline attack but added some extremely important detail of how this plan was developed and executed without Congressional knowledge and oversight. Just this morning, I heard a former North Carolina Congressman, a conservative Republican, say he could not believe the U.S. was responsible for the Nordstream attack. Well, the good Congressman has, like many others, been hoodwinked. The culprits moved their plan along under the noses of Congress by declassifying the plans and actions, so Congressional oversight was not required.  This dirty little trick was a major violation of American governmental principles and the trust of the American people.

President Biden was directly involved, as he was with the Maidan Coup in 2014 as Vice President. In fact, the key culprits of this deception of Congress and insane and tyrannical foreign policy were also involved in the 2014 Maidan coup. They are Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan. Also heavily involved according to Hersh, were Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and CIA Director William Burns. What is most disturbing here is that major foreign policy, in fact, an Act of War, went from President Biden direct to the CIA (without Congressional knowledge) to the execution of a plan destroying billions of dollars of Russian, German, Swiss, Austrian, and British public infrastructure and risking poverty and deadly cold and starvations for millions in Germany and other Western European countries.  

Hersh also mentions that someone from the Treasury Department had to be involved. It is likely that Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin at least had some knowledge of the plan. Perhaps a select few in Congress knew of the plan but deliberately helped conceal it. In addition, there are other Democrat and Republican members of Congress who are willfully blind to anything but their own financial and political interests. But going around Congress was a major necessity to execute the Nordstream sabotage.

They used the excuse that Nuland’s public statement of January 27 and Biden’s public statement of February 9 had automatically declassified their operations from Covert to something less, so they could get  around Congressional review. Perhaps Biden believed he could automatically declassify anything at will. It would be interesting to know whether any of Biden’s home-stored classified materials related to the 2014 Maidan Coup or the September 2022 attack on the Nordstream Pipelines.

One surprising addition Hersh adds to the plot is the substantial involvement of Norway. It makes sense, although I am personally reluctant to believe it. The Norwegians have abundant gas and oil reserves and experience pumping oil and gas from beneath the North Sea. Elimination of the Nordstream pipelines would offer them considerable potential for additional natural gas revenues. Also, Jens Stoltenberg, a former Norwegian Prime Minister, was NATO Secretary General. Stoltenberg is a fervent advocate of Ukrainian victory over the Russians. The U.S. has also recently helped establish a Norwegian submarine base and an Air Force Base and provided numerous new Boeing P8 Poseidon patrol aircraft. Norway has a border with Russia. Just after the Nordstream blowouts, Norway opened a new gas pipeline to Poland. It is also evident that both British and Polish national leaders knew of the Plan. The Norwegians insisted on notifying the Danes and Swedes but probably misled them as to the gravity and high foreign policy risks of their activities along the pipelines.

According to Hersh, Navy divers were recruited from the Naval Diving and Salvage Center in City, Florida, the largest such training center in the world. They were to report directly to the CIA. Special Ops Navy Seals were not used because of their close oversight by Congress.  

The C4 explosives would be incased in concrete and camouflaged next to the pipelines during the annual Baltic Sea exercises that occurred in June 2022, known as Baltic Operations 22 or BALTOPD 22. The C4 charges would have to be detonated  remotely much later to avoid immediate association with NATO Naval exercises. Actual detonation time was to be decided by President Biden at a time of his choosing. The detonation would be executed on short notice by dropping a sonar buoy in place by a single aircraft.

On September 26, 2022, President Biden notified CIA Director Burns, and Burns notified the Norwegian Naval Air team directly. A Norwegian Navy P8 surveyance /patrol aircraft departed its base on a seemingly routine flight and dropped the sonar buoy on target just south of Bornholm Island. The signal spread through the water and a few hours later high-powered C4 charges were triggered and three of four pipelines were badly damaged and inoperable. Within minutes tons of methane gas spread to the surface and was spotted by a Danish Navy helicopter.  There was massive environmental damage.  Note the sequence:  Biden  directly to CIA to the Norwegian Naval Air team for execution. No Congressional oversight or other authorities or safeguards. We have a Chief Executive who is ruling by direct order to the CIA, FBI, or the Justice Department.

Our reputation with the peoples of Western Europe may be severely damaged by the suffering they are undergoing because of an energy shortage caused by the Nordstream stoppage. The governments of several NATO allies may be thrown out of office in coming elections because of the suffering imposed by U.S. foreign policy, perhaps at least Germany, the Netherlands, and the UK.  The governments of Sweden and Norway may undergo some embarrassment. Our standing in Europe has already been damaged, and it could get worse. The Nordstream sabotage is a scandal that could severely damage the future political viability of NATO and the European Union.

There is a question in this case, of whether Biden is really the authority or is subject to the authority of an unauthorized Executive Puppet Master whoever that might be. Perhaps the Committee of Nuland, Sullivan, Blinken, and Burns are really running the country. But certainly the broader Committee would include the FBI, Justice Department, Secretary of Defense, and a few key Cabinet members or Members of Congress acting to do the will of the Executive Committee rather than Congress or the people. There are both Republican and Democrat members of Congress who are willfully blind to foreign policy and national defense agendas which are not in America’s best national interests nor in the interests of the American people and their liberties. 

U.S. national security, even risking World War III,  and the good name and integrity of the U.S. government and the trust and confidence of the American people have been severely jeopardized by the Nordstream Sabotage scandal. 

The Nordstream Pipeline Affair and its conduct should be taken up by House investigation committees immediately.

 

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Mike ScruggsMike Scruggs is the author of two books: The Un-Civil War: Shattering the Historical Myths; and Lessons from the Vietnam War: Truths the Media Never Told You, and over 600 articles on military history, national security, intelligent design, genealogical genetics, immigration, current political affairs, Islam, and the Middle East.

He holds a BS degree from the University of Georgia and an MBA from Stanford University. A former USAF intelligence officer and Air Commando, he is a decorated combat veteran of the Vietnam War, and holds the Distinguished Flying Cross, Purple Heart, and Air Medal. He is a retired First Vice President for a major national financial services firm and former Chairman of the Board of a classical Christian school.

Click the website below to order books. http://www.universalmediainc.org/books.htm.