The “panic” follows an investigation into the United States’ connection with the Nord Stream explosion.
QUICK FACTS:
- Former National Security Agency (NSA) employee Edward Snowden claimed the recent activity involving unidentified objects is a distraction from an investigation into the United States’ involvement with the Nord Stream Pipeline explosion.
- In describing the recent shoot-downs, Snowden tweeted, “I wish it were aliens, but it’s not aliens.”
- “It’s just the ol’ engineered panic, an attractive nuisance ensuring NatSec reporters get assigned to investigate balloon” absurdity “rather than budgets or bombings (a la Nord Stream),” he continued.
- Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Seymour Hersh claimed U.S. deep-sea divers used a NATO military exercise as a cover to plant mines along the pipelines, as reported by American Faith.
- “The issue was not whether to do the mission, but how to get it done with no overt clue as to who was responsible,” Hersh stated in his report, claiming the event was orchestrated by the White House and carried out by the CIA.
- A spokesperson for the National Security Council at the White House Adrienne Watson denied the U.S. involvement and called the story a work of fiction.
NORD STREAM INVESTIGATIONS:
- Germany, Denmark, and Sweden launched independent investigations into the pipeline explosion.
- Germany concluded that there was no evidence to suggest that Russia sabotaged its own pipeline, as some alleged.
- Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSS) investigators claimed the explosions were an act of international terrorism.
BACKGROUND:
- The Washington Post found that several countries ultimately found that there is no conclusive evidence that Russia was behind the Nord Stream explosion.
- One European official said “there is no evidence at this point that Russia was behind the sabotage,” echoing the sentiments of 23 other officials across 9 countries.
- Several leaders regret placing the initial blame on Russia, with one official stating, “The governments that waited to comment before drawing conclusions played this right.”
