New York Times: In Nord Stream Mystery, Baltic Seabed Provides a Nearly Ideal Crime Scene
More than 15 years ago, when the Nord Stream gas pipeline between Russia and Germany was little more than an idea, a Swedish government study warned of the risks inherent in running a critical piece of energy infrastructure along the Baltic Sea floor.
The pipeline would be vulnerable to even the most rudimentary form of sabotage, analysts wrote, and underwater surveillance would be nearly impossible. The 2007 study, written by the Swedish Defense Research Agency, even posited a scenario:
“One diver would be enough to set an explosive device.”
Today, European investigators face almost exactly that scenario. The Swedish authorities leading a criminal investigation have concluded that a state actor was most likely responsible for a September blast that ripped through the gas pipes. Officials and experts say that explosives were probably dropped from ships or — just as the Swedish report warned — planted on the seafloor using submarines or divers.
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WNU Editor: I love the mental gymnastics that the New York Times goes through to try and blame Russia for destroying a pipeline that it spent 10 years to plan and $23 billion to build with the expectation of receiving almost a trillion in revenues over the course of its lifetime.
But we all know who was to gain (and is gaining) from this attack.
At least the Washington Post coverage of this story is more balanced and straight to the point .... Washington Post: No Conclusive Evidence Russia Is Behind Nord Stream Attack (December 16, 2022).