Western media have tried to suggest that the Nord Stream pipeline incident was the result of a Russian sabotage operation, but this narrative does not seem to convince even Western experts. Recently, a former Pentagon adviser stated that the US and UK appear to be responsible for the operation that led to the Nord Stream 1 and 2 explosions. The evident Western involvement in this crime should be reason for condemnation by international society.
Participating in an episode of the Judging Freedom podcast with host Andre Napolitano, former US Secretary of Defense’s advisor Douglas Macgregor stated that the US and UK could be the countries behind the recent pipeline explosion. Macgregor has categorically stated that the Russians did not participate in such an operation and that an eventual German self-sabotage plan also sounds very unlikely. For him, the US and UK are the countries that not only seem more interested in this type of attitude, but also with the greatest technical and operational capacity to conduct this type of work.
Macgregor, as expected, did not speak in an accusatory manner, and made it clear that he does not have concrete data to say who is behind the crime, but he stated emphatically that only Americans and British seem to have the technical and material conditions necessary to meet the demands of this type of operation.
“The Russians did not do this (…) You have to look at who are the state actors that have the capability to do this. And that means the [UK’s] Royal Navy and the United States’ Navy (…) I think that’s pretty clear”, he said during the interview with Napolitano.
He also commented on how the circumstances lead to believe that the US actually participated in the act, remembering, for example, the post by Poland’s former foreign minister, European parliament member Radoslaw Sikorski on his social network literally thanking the US for the attack against the Nord Stream. Considering Sikorski’s position as a high-ranking European official, it is likely that he does have concrete information that legitimizes this conclusion. Although Mcgregor did not comment in detail on the case, it is even possible to think of some degree of Polish participation in this type of attack, as Poland is one of the most interested parties – both politically and economically – in the end of the Nord Stream project.
In fact, the opinion of a former Pentagon advisor is absolutely devoid of any pro-Russian ideological stance. Mcgregor is analyzing the case in a technical, impartial way, truly committed to the truth. Many western media outlets are claiming that believing the US carried out the Nord Stream attack would be some sort of “pro-Russian conspiracy theory”, but this is not true. Circumstances suggest an American participation, as claimed by Western military experts themselves. This is not a war of narratives about who would or would not have done the sabotage, but a simple analytical conclusion: the US and UK have political and economic interests in destroying Russian gas pipelines, as wells as the material conditions and technical apparatus necessary to do so.
In this sense, Russia has encouraged the advancement of investigations, including within the scope of the UN. Russian Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya told the UNSC that his country defends a thorough investigation into the sabotage against the gas pipelines and made it clear that Moscow does not believe in the hypothesis that the attack was organized by conventional terrorists, suggesting that it was planned by professional intelligence agencies.
“Russia calls for a thorough investigation to find out the real cause of what happened (…) It is absolutely clear to us that ordinary terrorists aren’t capable of carrying out sabotage activities of this complexity and scale. We view actions aimed at damaging the gas pipelines as a deliberate act of sabotage against Russia’s crucial energy facility (…) We will certainly establish all those involved in this act of sabotage”, Nebenzia said during the UNSC meeting.
It is necessary that the entire international society mobilizes to demand the same as Russia, that the truth about the case be revealed through the advancement of investigations. It is unacceptable that international organizations, especially those directly affected, such as the EU, remain silent in the face of this crime. If the experts’ suspicions about US and UK (and possibly Poland’s) participation are proven, these countries should be brought to responsibility.
Lucas Leiroz, researcher in Social Sciences at the Rural Federal University of Rio de Janeiro; geopolitical consultant.
Source: BRICS Information Portal. 5 September 2022.