[D66] US sabotage Nordstream (4)

[René Oudeweg]

unz.com
<https://www.unz.com/pescobar/germany-and-eu-have-been-handed-over-a-declaration-of-war/>



  Germany and EU have been handed over a declaration of war

Pepe Escobar • September 28, 2022 • 1,600 Words • 357 Comments • Reply
9-12 minutes
------------------------------------------------------------------------

/*The sabotage of the Nord Stream (NS) and Nord Stream 2 (NS2) pipelines
in the Baltic Sea has ominously propelled ‘Disaster Capitalism’ to a
whole new, toxic level.*/

This episode of Hybrid Industrial/Commercial War, in the form of a
terror attack against energy infrastructure in international waters
signals the absolute collapse of international law, drowned by a “our
way or the highway”, “rules-based”, order.

The attack on both pipelines consisted of multiple explosive charges
detonated in separate branches close to the Danish island of Bornholm,
but in international waters.

That was a sophisticated operation, carried out in stealth in the
shallow depth of the Danish straits. That would in principle rule out
submarines (ships entering the Baltic are limited to a draught of 15
meters). As for prospective “invisible” vessels, these could only loiter
around with permission from Copenhagen – as the waters around Borholm
are crammed with sensors, reflecting fear of incursion by Russian
submarines.

Swedish seismologists registered two underwater explosions on Monday –
one of them estimated at 100 kg of TNT. Yet as much as 700 kg may have
been used to blow up three separate pipeline nodes. Such amount could
not have possibly been delivered in just one trip by underwater drones
currently available in neighboring nations.

The pressure on the pipelines dropped exponentially. The pipes are now
filled with seawater.

The pipes on both NS and NS2 can be repaired, of course, but hardly
before the arrival of General Winter. The question is whether Gazprom –
already focused on several hefty Eurasian customers – would bother,
especially considering that Gazprom vessels could be exposed to a
possible NATO naval attack in the Baltic.

German officials are already spinning that NS and NS2 can “potentially”
be out of commission “forever”. The EU economy and EU citizens badly
needed that gas supply. Yet the EUrocracy in Brussels – which rules over
nation-states – would not follow, because they have been dictated
themselves by the Empire of Chaos, Lies and Plunder. A case can be made
that this Euro-oligarchy should one day be tried for treason.

As it stands, a strategic irreversibility is already self-evident; the
population of several EU nations will pay a tremendous price and suffer
serious consequences derived from this attack, short, medium and long term.

*Cui bono? *

Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson admitted that was “a matter
of sabotage”. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen admitted “it was
not an accident”. Berlin agrees with the Scandinavians.

Now compare it with former Polish Defense Minister (2005-2007) Radek
Sikorski, a Russophobe married to rabid US “analyst” Anne Applebaum, who
merrily tweeted “Thank you, USA”.

It gets curiouser and curiouser when we know that simultaneously to the
sabotage the Baltic Pipe <https://www.baltic-pipe.eu/> from Norway to
Poland was partially opened, a “new gas supply corridor” servicing “the
Danish and Polish markets”: actually a minor affair, considering months
ago their sponsors were in trouble finding gas, and now it will be even
harder, with much higher costs.

NS2 had already been attacked – in the open – all along its
construction. Back in February, Polish ships actively tried to prevent
the Fortuna pipe-laying vessel from finishing NS2. The pipes were being
laid south of – you guessed it – Bornholm.

NATO for its part has been very active on the underwater drones
department
<https://seapowermagazine.org/baltops-22-a-perfect-opportunity-for-research-and-resting-new-technology/>.
The Americans have access to long distance Norwegian underwater drones
which can be modified with other designs. Alternatively, professional
navy clearance divers could have been employed in the sabotage – even as
tidal currents around Bornholm are a serious matter.

The Big Picture reveals the collective West in absolute panic, with
Atlanticist “elites” willing to resort to anything – outrageous lies,
assassinations, terrorism, sabotage, all out financial war, support to
neo-Nazis – to prevent their descent into a geopolitical and geoeconomic
abyss.

Disabling NS and NS2 represents the definitive closure of any
possibility of a German-Russia deal on gas supplies, with the added
benefit of relegating Germany to the lowly status of absolute US vassal.

So that brings us to the key question of which Western intel apparatus
designed the sabotage. Prime candidates are of course CIA and MI6 – with
Poland set up as the fall guy and Denmark playing a very dodgy part:
it’s impossible that Copenhagen was not at least “briefed” on the intel.

Prescient as ever, as early as in April 2021 Russians were asking
questions <https://vz.ru/society/2021/4/14/1094528.html> about the
military security of Nord Stream.

The crucial vector is that we may be facing the case of a EU/NATO member
involved in an act of sabotage against the number one EU/NATO economy.
That’s a casus belli. Outside of the appalling mediocrity and cowardice
of the current administration in Berlin, it’s clear that the BND –
German intel – as well as the German Navy and informed industrialists
sooner or later will do the math.

This was far from an isolated attack. On September 22 there was an
attempt against Turkish Stream by Kiev saboteurs. The day before, naval
drones with English language IDs were found in Crimea, suspected of
being part of the plot. Add to it US helicopters overflying the future
sabotage nodes weeks ago; a UK “research” vessel loitering in Danish
waters
<https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/rrs-sir-david-attenborough/current-location-ship-tracking>
since mid-September; and NATO tweeting about the testing of “new
unmanned systems at sea” on the same day of the sabotage.

*Show me the (gas) money*

The Danish Minister of Defense met urgently with NATO’s Secretary
General this Wednesday. After all the explosions happened very close to
Denmark’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ). That may be qualified as crude
kabuki at best; exactly on the same day, the European Commission (EC),
NATO’s de facto political office, advanced its trademark obsession: more
sanctions against Russia, including the certified-to-fail cap on oil prices.

Meanwhile, EU energy giants are bound to lose big time with the sabotage.

<https://www.amazon.com/dp/0978813820/?tag=unco037-20>

ORDER IT NOW

The roll call includes the German Wintershall Dea AG and PEG/ E.ON; the
Dutch N.V. Nederlandse Gasunie; and the French ENGIE. Then there are
those which financed NS2: Wintershall Dea again as well as Uniper;
Austrian OMV; ENGIE again; and British-Dutch Shell. Wintershall Dea and
ENGIE are both co-owners and creditors. Their fuming shareholders will
want serious answers from a serious investigation.

It gets worse: there are no holds barred anymore on the Pipeline Terror
front. Russia will be on red alert not only for Turk Stream but also
Power of Siberia. Same for the Chinese and their maze of pipelines
arriving in Xinjiang.

Whatever the methodology and the actors who were in the loop, this is
payback – in advance – for the inevitable collective West defeat in
Ukraine. And a crude warning to the Global South that they will do it
again. Yet action always breeds reaction: from now on, “funny things”
could also happen to US/UK pipelines in international waters.

The EU oligarchy is reaching an advanced process of disintegration at
lightning speed. Their window of opportunity to at least attempt a role
as a strategically autonomous geopolitical actor is now closed.

These EUROcrats now face a serious predicament. Once it’s clear who are
the perpetrators of the sabotage in the Baltic, and once they understand
all the life-changing socio-economic consequences for pan-EU citizens,
the kabuki will have to stop. Including the already running,
uber-ridiculous subplot that Russia blew up its own pipeline when
Gazprom could simply have turned off the valves for good.

And once again, it gets worse: Gazprom is threatening to sue the
Ukrainian energy company Naftofgaz for unpaid bills. That would lead to
the end of Russian gas transiting Ukraine towards the EU.

As if all of that was not serious enough, Germany is contractually
obligated to purchase at least 40 billion cubic meters of Russian gas a
year until 2030.

Just say no? They can’t: Gazprom is legally entitled to get paid even
without shipping gas. That’s the spirit of a long-term contract. And
it’s already happening: because of sanctions, Berlin does not get all
the gas it needs but still needs to pay.

*All the devils are here*

Now it’s painfully clear the imperial velvet gloves are off when it
comes to the vassals. EU independence: verboten. Cooperation with China:
verboten. Independent trade connectivity with Asia: verboten. The only
place for the EU is to be economically subjugated to the US: a tawdry
remix of 1945-1955. With a perverse neoliberal twist: we will own your
industrial capacity, and you will have nothing.

The sabotage of NS and NS2 is inbuilt in the imperial wet dream of
breaking up the Eurasian land mass into a thousand pieces to prevent a
trans-Eurasia consolidation between Germany (representing the EU),
Russia and China: \$50 trillion in GDP, based on purchasing power parity
(PPP) compared to the US’s \$20 trillion.

We must go back to Mackinder: control of the Eurasian land mass
constitutes control of the world. American elites and their Trojan
Horses across Europe will do whatever it takes not to give up their control.

“American elites” in this context encompass the deranged, Straussian
neo-con-infested “intel community” and the Big Energy, Big Pharma and
Big Finance that pays them and who profits not only from the Deep
State’s Forever War approach but also wants to make a killing out of the
Davos-concocted Great Reset.

The Raging Twenties started with a murder – of Gen Soleimani. Blowing up
pipelines is part of the sequel. There will be a highway to hell all the
way to 2030. Yet to borrow from Shakespeare, hell is definitely empty,
and all the (Atlanticist) devils are here.
/Pepe Escobar is an independent geopolitical analyst and author. His
latest book is Raging Twenties. He’s been politically canceled from
Facebook and Twitter. Follow him on Telegram
<https://t.me/rocknrollgeopolitics>./
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://www.tuxtown.net/pipermail/d66/attachments/20221006/6a900e6e/attachment-0001.html>