Biden's actions regarding the Nord Stream have revealed his real attitude towards Germany and NATO, Hersh suggests.
The United States’ decision to blow up the Nord Stream natural gas pipelines may have a detrimental effect on NATO’s unity, warned investigative journalist Seymour Hersh who earlier this month delivered an exposé on the sabotage.
In an exclusive interview with one Canadian digital media outlet, Hersh argued that Biden “committed a great mistake” by destroying the pipelines that provided Germany with much-needed natural gas.
“He’s told Germany and NATO 'When push comes to shove, I’ll throw you over the wall. You can be cold, I don’t care. If you’re not giving enough money to Ukraine, screw you’,” the journalist said.
He added that “the question now is who’s going to be the first country to leave NATO?”
Hersh also argued that Biden is “lying now to push us into war,” comparing his actions to those of the 36th US President Lyndon B. Johnson who used a bogus attack on US warships in the Gulf of Tonkin as a pretext for entering the Vietnam War in 1964.
Earlier in February, Hersh accused the United States’ leadership of orchestrating the destruction of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 natural gas pipelines in late September 2022.
Citing sources familiar with the planning of this operation, Hersh claimed that US Navy divers planted explosive charges on the pipelines during summer 2022 under the cover of a NATO military exercise in the Baltic Sea. The explosives were then reportedly detonated remotely three months later so as to avoid casting suspicion on the perpetrators.
Meanwhile, Germany now mulls the possibility of using the pipes left over from the Nord Stream 2 construction – currently stored at Germany’s Rugen island – to build a pipeline for transporting liquefied natural gas from a yet-to-be-built LNG terminal, German media has reported.
This situation, however, is complicated by the sanctions imposed by the US and the EU against Russia amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, since the pipes belong to Russian energy giant Gazprom, one of the sanctioned entities.
Energy crisis to cost Germany $1 trillion – Bloomberg
Germany's government will have to allocate more than $1 trillion by 2030 to deal with the risks and challenges that have arisen due to the energy crisis, Bloomberg reported on Sunday, citing its primary research service.
The enormous costs are expected to include investments in modernization of the country's power grids and a planned phase-out of its nuclear and coal plants. Berlin will reportedly face growing demand from electric vehicles and heating systems. Moreover, the German authorities are obliged to meet climate commitments.
The increase in power demand by some 30% from the country’s current consumption will take to about 250 gigawatts the new capacity projected to be installed by 2030, according to data provided by the country’s network regulator and think tank Agora Energiewende, as quoted by Bloomberg.
The planned transition is also expected to require the installation of solar panels covering the equivalent of 43 soccer fields and 1,600 heat pumps every day, according to the news agency’s analysts. On top of this, the nation’s ambitious plan would need to see 27 new onshore and four offshore wind farms built per week.
Earlier this month, Brussels-based think tank Bruegel reported that EU nations had splashed out nearly €800 billion (nearly $846 billion) on support measures as the region continues to reel from climbing energy costs.
According to the analysis, €681 billion was allocated for subsidizing households and businesses to help them in covering soaring electricity costs. Germany reportedly topped Bruegel’s spending chart, having set aside nearly €270 billion, while the next three highest, UK, Italy and France, each spent around €150 billion.
Russian-Chinese-South African Navies Begin Active Phase of Military Drills
The Russian Navy is represented by the "Admiral Gorshkov" frigate carrying hypersonic Zircon missiles and the medium sea tanker "Kama." The Chinese Navy is represented by a frigate and a destroyer, as well as a supply vessel, and the South African Navy, in turn, by a frigate.
South African, Chinese and Russian ships taking part in the "Mosi-II" naval maneuvers in the Indian Ocean have set out to sea to start the active phase of the exercises, the South African Ministry of Defense has announced.
According to the statement, the crews of the three countries have started to carry out the operations worked out at the planning stage.
The active phase of the exercises will end on February 27. It includes training on artillery fire, repelling air attacks by a prospective enemy, anti-terrorist actions, technical maneuvers and technical assistance to a ship in distress.
According to a South African defense official, the goal of the maneuvers is to improve coordination and co-operation between the naval fleets of the three participating countries. The "Mosi-II" exercises will serve as a platform for an exchange of military knowledge, know-how and operational experience for the three militaries.
At the start of the drills, Tan Kefei, a spokesman for China's Defense Ministry, said they would enhance "the ability of all parties involved to jointly ensure maritime security."
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