Eight days ago I wrote about claims made by investigative reporter Seymour Hersh that the U.S. was the key player in blowing up the NordStream II pipeline under the Baltic Sea. In the week plus since several have written that Hersh appears to have relied almost entirely on one anonymous source. Also, both the Norwegian and U.S. governments have unambiguously denied involvement.
Now RealClearWorld links to an analytic piece at GZERO Media which picks some non-trivial holes in the Hersh claims. Author Ian Bremmer asks if not the U.S., then who? His answer:
My money is on Ukraine. Ukrainians had the most to gain from blowing up this multi-billion dollar, Russian-owned cudgel. They were also the most risk-tolerant.
Five months ago, I would've been skeptical that the Ukrainians had the technical and operational capabilities to do something like this. But I also didn't think they'd be able to blow up the Kerch Bridge connecting Crimea to Russia, itself quite a sophisticated operation.
Is it possible Ukraine had help from one or several NATO members? Poland, for instance, has been the most strident Russia hawk in the coalition, aware that it's next on Putin's wishlist should Ukraine fall.
Absent any proof, though, it's speculation all the way down. And make no mistake: There's no proof of anything — not yet at least.
I agree that, at this juncture, we don’t know who’s responsible. More than a few think Hersh got too far out over his skis.
