Quote (fender @ Sep 27 2022 12:07pm)
should american operatives be caught or found out to be behind this, it'd have major diplomatic and economic consequences, it'd result in a massive fallout and shatter the relations between the two countries.
Haha, the USA was caught tapping the phones of every major European leader even specifically Merkel and the response was, in essence, nothing. Total rollover.
In 2015, the Swedes fished a unmanned submarine drone from right next to NS2, and what was the result? Nothing, completely ignored.
https://www.pipeline-journal.net/news/explosive-laden-drone-found-near-nord-stream-pipelineQuote
you'd also have to be pretty dumb not to realise russia's possible motivation: have germany and the EU pressure ukraine into peace negotiations that favour russian demands. that and the general chaos and economic damage this created. the "argument" that russia would destroy its leverage by blowing up those pipelines, and therefore couldn't possibly be behind this, is plain stupid - at least if you're even remotely familiar with the situation. even prior to the sabotage, russia had made transparent "excuses" not to deliver gas to germany (the whole turbine saga in august comes to mind), they already used that bargaining chip. also, russia doesn't risk much by blowing up those pipelines. they are already diplomatically and economically isolated from the west, and they know that even if caught red handed, it's unlikely this would trigger an open war with a nuclear power.
Not turning the pipeline back on because of the sanctions affecting normal chains of custody is different because it's an easily reversible situation. To get gas, all the Germans need to do is to lift the sanctions and voila, a day later they're getting gas.
This American attack on the pipelines renders the pipelines inoperable for a considerable period of time. No one is even going to bother to fix this while the sanctions are in effect, so first the sanctions are lifted and then, I dunno, weeks or months pass before it can be turned on. This both makes the appeal of dropping sanctions less immediate, and gives more time for America to find more ways to sabotage if any sanctions relief is negotiated.
This is all so funny. It's so immediately obvious who is behind this, and the levels of disbelief and logical contortions needed to find some way to blame it on Russia are honestly kinda sad. Have some self respect.
This post was edited by kusotarre1 on Sep 27 2022 01:26pm