Posts by Linda Collins3

Morgan Wright5 said:There isn't any concrete around those pipes, so I'm not sure where you're getting that from.

hollowdriver13 said:Because, you know, Russia and Putin aren't exactly famous for blowing up their own stuff... oh wait, my bad, let's not forget 1999 and those Moscow bombings orchestrated by the FSB to justify the second Chechen War.
And honestly, they don't lie much... okay, maybe a little bit lately in 2022, but otherwise they're pretty reliable, and it’s not like they haven't been poisoning people across the EU and sowing discord for ages.

So, what's the actual endgame for the USA here? What's in it for them?

What does the USA actually gain by breaking apart the unity of the NATO alliance—especially after years of friction and internal bickering finally settled down?
Plus, if the EU and NATO are their strongest and biggest allies, why on earth would they go out of their way to dismantle them now? 🤔

On the flip side, a fractured EU suits Russia way more. A united EU makes Russia look like a tiny player by comparison.
But a broken EU? That makes the RF a massive factor on the continent again, and it's so much easier to manipulate everyone when they're all pulling in different directions.
And looking at the mess with Nord Stream 1, you could argue that since the pipeline is trashed, they have a perfect excuse: "Sorry, we can't deliver." By turning off the taps and ripping up contracts, they dodged being sued in international courts where they'd likely lose; even if they wouldn't pay, their assets worldwide could have been seized to cover it.

As crazy as it sounds to destroy your own assets, for them, there are way more potential upsides compared to the USA, where most moves like this just bring a bunch of downsides.

If there weren't sanctions and if Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 were running smoothly, I'd be much more inclined to believe the USA did this to disable them—even at the cost of souring relations with Europe—just as a way to cut off the funding to the RF.

Daniel Ward87 said:It’s technically possible for them to pull it off. But honestly, I feel like doing that would just sabotage NATO and the European Union itself. That’s why the idea of it being them seems crazy to me. Ever since that whole scandal involving spying on Merkel, it feels like the US is actually pretty careful about how they handle the EU. Unless, of course, this is part of some massive master plan we haven't even dreamed up yet. Still, my money is on the Russians.

Daniel Ward87 said:We already know the drill: Americans did it yesterday just so they could pin the sabotage on the Russians. It’s all about messing with those gas lines to the European Union so they stay hooked on the USA, plus it makes it look like the US is pulling the strings behind this whole war.

Honestly, what's the point of the meeting when I can just get the whole story from this PDF? ☕

Nathan Evans78 said:I honestly think this whole situation is just temporary. If I had to place a bet, I’d say we’re looking at about five years of deflation within the export sector before the entire economic engine shifts its focus toward services. In a scenario like that, you have to wonder who actually comes out on top. Take a place like Mexico, for instance—they could be the big winner here. Between having access to Russian gas and maintaining a much more affordable labor force, they could realistically transform into the industrial tiger of the region. You could easily see German capitalists flocking there to run the show. 😁

Germany handles its immigration policy much like we do here in the States, so honestly, I don't see this being much of an issue in the long run.

Timothy Nelson5 said:Then again, you could follow that same logic and claim the pipeline was sabotaged by:

1. Green terrorists
2. Ukraine
3. The American fracking lobby

By that line of reasoning, any of those three groups arguably have way more skin in the game and actual motivation than official US policy does. Maybe.

Well, look, the "far right" has already taken power in Italy, and people are complaining about it elsewhere too.

I don't see what that has anything to do with the Nord Stream sabotage.
Italy wasn't exactly reliant on gas from Russia anyway... they have their LNG terminals and plenty of gas in the Mediterranean, plus they're planning pipelines from North Africa...

Nancy Gomez26 said:World War II kicked off with a false-flag attack on Germany. These people are just ready to "retaliate" in kind. For regimes like this, all that matters is finding a justification, no matter how transparent the lie is—just look at those recent "referendums." We could be looking at a wave of sabotage hitting other pipelines next. First, it’s the Russian lines (which aren't even being used anyway), then they move on to the active ones. And predictably, the narrative will shift to blame Americans for trying to "bring Europe to its knees." I mean, who else would "want to drive a wedge between us"?😉

gentlestag15 said:The Poles are obsessed with the Russians, and the Russians are just as fixated on them.
Why on earth would the Americans go blowing things up? Doesn't make any sense to me.
It's basically a message from Poland to Russia: we've got Norwegian gas now, so you can take your nonsense elsewhere.
They've definitely branded them an enemy state, and frankly, the Poles are taking that way more seriously than the Americans are. They're used to this kind of thing.

Nancy Gomez26 said:The real question is how a major power struggle at the top of the Russian political hierarchy would play out today. What is Putin's actual political leverage right now? I suspect he is much like his military—formidable on paper and perhaps against much weaker adversaries, but in reality, it's an entirely different story....

Joshua Myers432 said:Except now it's property; I would have called it a colony 😁

It’s wild how things have flipped 180 degrees in just two centuries.

gentlestag15 said:The Poles just opened up a pipeline to Norway yesterday and the Russian one immediately went up in smoke.
I'm putting my money on Poland. 😁

Carol Johnson21 said:Gas isn't actually flowing through the pipeline; it's just sitting there within a closed system.

Joshua Myers432 said:Look, you can't just sell off a pipeline or pack it up and move it. It’s a direct line to Russia. There is zero logic in the Russians blowing it up—none at all. Same goes for the Germans; it makes no sense. The only actors that make any sense here are Ukrainians or Americans. Given that Ukrainians likely don't have the capability to pull off sabotage of this scale, that leaves...

Besides, the US rebuilt Germany from the ashes after WWII and jumpstarted their entire industrial sector. If they wanted to tear it down now, they certainly could.🎉

gentlestag15 said:Sure, but let’s be real—having two pipes from Nord Stream 1 burst and one from Nord Stream 2 blow out all in a single day? That’s textbook sabotage, not some random pressure drop.

Henry Gonzalez67 said:And if the valve on the Russian side is closed, then how do you explain those "bubbles" in the Baltic Sea? How does the gas reach the site of the rupture?

rowdytiger13 said:

says:
It feels like classic American cowboy energy to me—that whole "screw the European Union" vibe coming from Victoria Nuland.

They love making threats, even if they aren't quite as subtle as Russia. Honestly, we dealt with constant, blunt blackmail and intimidation back during our own Civil War.

You pointed to the far-right victory in Italy as a reason, but those guys still need that European Union money, and she’s already said she supports the sanctions. Once she actually takes office, she'll probably just tone down the rhetoric, at least where necessary to keep the funding flowing.
Only countries that basically bankroll the funds, like the UK, can afford to act tough. Everyone else can talk big until their wallets get frozen.
So... it doesn't really mean anything, and it's definitely not enough reason for the US to start running sabotage operations.
Sure, he gets under their skin... that's true. But would they really take him out just for that? I wouldn't bet on it.
The whole thing is pretty strange because neither side seems to have a rock-solid motive.