Will Scholz Tell the Truth about Nord Stream Pipeline Sabotage?

by: Harley Schlanger

March 10—What could have prompted the publication by the {New York Times} on March 7 of a vaguely- sourced, widely-ridiculed story, which alleged that a previously-unknown band of "pro-Ukrainian", non-state actors planted powerful explosives in a highly-technical operation, without detection in an area of the Baltic subject to  wide-spread surveillance capabilities, to sabotage the Nord Stream pipelines?  A similar story, which appeared in the German press the same day, in {ARD} and {Die Zeit}, left many scratching their heads, looking for clues as to the source of this "new evidence.

These stories came after months of non-reporting in major western press of what has been described as an "act of terrorism" or an "act of war", sometimes referred to as a "great mystery".  Investigations allegedly underway by Sweden, Denmark and Germany have yielded little information, other than claims that results had been "inconclusive", or could not be released due to "security concerns", though there was confirmation that the explosions were an act of sabotage, but NOT done by Russia.

The first clue as to why the sudden rush to cover the story is the publication of a compelling article by prize-winning American journalist Seymour Hersh on February 8, "How America Took Out the Nord Stream Pipelines."  Hersh provides a detailed picture of an operation initiated by U.S. President Biden, under National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, to fulfill promises made by Biden and neocon State Department official Victoria Nuland before Russia launched the Special Military Operation into Ukraine, that the pipeline would not be allowed.

Hersh's story was met by deafening silence from major media, despite his stellar reputation for accuracy.  A survey of major western media found that, of the twenty largest media outlets, only four small stories were produced on Hersh's reporting, with one referring to him as a "discredited journalist" who just gave a "gift to Putin."   

The press silence was magnified by the minimal effort made by journalists to interrogate U.S. officials about the charge, and general silence from members of the U.S. Congress.  The few questions from reporters on the allegations were met by perfunctory denials, such as from State Department spokesman Ned Price on February 9, who nervously stated that there was no U.S. role.  This was followed by a more forceful response from John Kirby on February 19.  Kirby, the Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council, told Fox-News that it is a "completely false story...no truth to it...Not a shred of it.  It is not true."  An official from the NSC denounced it as "complete fiction", while a CIA spokeswoman claimed it is "completely and utterly false."  

These are hardly reliable sources!

Hersch Story Would Not Die

Despite these efforts to prevent the spread of Hersh's revelations, the story would not die.  This is partly due to Hersh's personal persistence, as he soon did many interviews in non-traditional media, including with podcasters, bloggers, and some with foreign press, such as the {Berliner Zeitung} and China's CGTN.   Those who interviewed him highlighted his remarkable career accomplishments, in which he broke stories inconvenient for the war hawks of the secret government, such as the My Lai massacre in Vietnam, CIA spying in the 1970s on Americans engaged in anti-war activity, and the U.S.-run secret torture prison at Abu Ghraib in Iraq. 

The story also "had legs", as it offers insight into the completely unhinged Russophobic mentality which led to the war launched by the U.S. and its NATO allies against Russia.  The attack on the Nord Stream pipelines was not only an attack on Russia, but on Germany, and the other European nations depending on gas shipped through the pipelines to meet their energy needs.  As such, it was picked up by the growing network of organizations mobilizing to end the war in Ukraine, and helped fuel the revival of a global peace movement.  A chronology of events includes:

February 19—At The Rage Against the War Machine in Washington, D.C., speakers referred to the Hersh article as evidence that the effort to destroy Russia, which is at the heart of NATO's war in Ukraine, demonstrates the lunatic mentality which could trigger a nuclear war;

Feb. 21—A U.N. Security Council hearing requested by Russia on the Hersh revelations evinced denials and denunciations from the U.S. and its allies, but provided a venue for the charges to be heard.  Speakers included U.N. official Jeffrey Sachs and CIA veteran analyst Ray McGovern, who both made the case that Hersh's reporting must lead to a full unbiased investigation;

Feb. 23—A Schiller Institute (SI) online conference, organized by SI founder Helga Zepp-LaRouche, featured a panel of experts on the topic "Investigate Nord Stream Revelations: Stop Nuclear World War III.  LaRouche and the other speakers insisted that there must be consequences for those who engaged in what international law professor Francis Boyle described in the conference as a prosecutable Act of War in the attack on the pipelines.

Feb. 25—A day of international mobilization, highlighted by a rally at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin of 50,000 demonstrators.  The Hersh revelations were featured in building events In London, Paris, Rome, Amsterdam and other European cities.  

In addition to Berlin, there were events in as many as 200 cities in Germany, as Germans are demanding to know why Germany is continuing to provide funds and weapons to Ukraine to fight Russia, when its purported ally, the U.S., acted to sabotage the energy source needed for industry, business and household use.  Why, they are asking, has the Scholz government not demanded to know who destroyed the pipelines?  Was this not an act of war against Germany?

Strange Trip of Scholz to Washington

On March 3, less than a week after the Berlin demo, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz made a one-day trip to Washington, for a closed-door, session with President Biden, which lasted just over an hour.  Biden greeted Scholz with perfunctory talking points, thanking him for making "historic changes at home", including increased defense spending, shipping weapons to Ukraine, and taking measures to break Germany's dependence on Russian energy supplies. Scholz responded by stressing the importance of continuing "global solidarity" to defend Kiev for "as long as it takes," adding that it is "very important that we acted together."

Following their talks, there was no joint press conference, nor communique, leaving the press wondering why Scholz came to Washington to repeat what are now standard cliches, which could have been handled by a video call.  Given that there seemed to be no new ground, why was a private face-to-face meeting with Biden necessary?  Some suggested that maybe the topic was China policy, as Washington has been escalating its war rhetoric against China, pushing for an economic decoupling of Europe with China, which would go against German interests.

What was missing from this press speculation were the two "elephants" in the room: The publication and spread of the Seymour Hersh revelation; and the revival of the peace movement in Germany, in part energized by the failure of Scholz to comment on Hersh's investigative reporting.  Many marchers carried placards demanding a response from Scholz.

One explanation for the meeting was put forward by Ray McGovern, who addressed The LaRouche Organization's weekly Manhattan Project meeting on March 4.  McGovern expressed his shock at the failure of the press to investigate what actually was discussed when the two met.  "It cries out for an explanation," he said, offering what he ironically called a "conspiracy theory" to explain it.

He referred to the February 7, 2022 press conference when Biden stated, in Scholz's presence, that if Russia invades Ukraine, "then there will be...no longer a Nord Stream 2.  We, we will bring an end to it."   Asked how he will do it, given that the project is under German control, Biden said, "I promise you, we'll be able to do it."

McGovern suggested that perhaps Scholz's private conversation with Biden was a desperate attempt at self-protection.  Given that Scholz has repeatedly said  that "We do everything together", McGovern said it is legitimate that Germans ask him, "did you blow up the Nord Stream pipelines together?  Did President Biden tell you what was going to happen...on the 7th of February, and he promised to do it?"

McGovern continued, suggesting that perhaps Scholz said to Biden,  “Please, Joe, don’t tell anybody that you told me you were going to blow up these things. I’m pretending I didn’t know about this. If it comes out that you told me,” then my government might not survive.

While McGovern admitted that he was engaging in speculation, there is a reality underlying this hypothetical conversation.  Whether or not they discussed the Hersh article, Scholz is in an increasingly vulnerable position, betting the future of his government that the Germans would submissively accept becoming a party in NATO's war, allied with a government that destroyed its energy security.  It may turn out that his unwillingness to challenge what was an act of war against his nation may not only doom his government, but the continued existence of NATO. 

The refusal to act on the demand by Mrs. Zepp-LaRouche and others for a full investigation into Hersh's explosive revelations must be urgently addressed by those mobilizing to prevent a nuclear World War III.