[gleeaikin]

We can count on Comrade Cathy to make and post the detailed arguments that favor Russia. However, here is a very interesting line that gives Russian oligarcks a great motive to kill the Russian owned pipeline.

“Gazprom is legally entitled to get paid even without shipping gas. That’s the spirit of a long-term contract. And it’s already happening: because of sanctions, Berlin does not get all the gas it needs but still needs to pay.” So now Germany is required to pay Gazprom until 2030 no hope of gas. Of course if Russia had turned off the gas, Russia would be to blame and Gazprom would loose it’s claim to continued payment.

So this is one more motive for Russia to destroy the pipeline. Another motive is to enable General Winter to do its worst in Europe, so that by spring they will be more likely to press Ukraine into unfavorable peace talks. All Russia would have to do this winter is keep their footholds in the 4 voting sections, and Crimea.

This also makes it important to convince Europe that US/UK did it without consultation thus driving a wedge between the two sea powers and the European landpowers as advised by Comrade Alexander Dugin in hia writings and advice to Putin on how to make Russia great again. At this point I should repeat that anyone interested in understanding Putin’s goals would do well to read Dugin’s writings and book. This is as important now as reading Hitler’s Mein Kampf was in the 1930s. One Dugin goal was already achieved by separating UK from Europe with Brexit.

Regarding languages I have elsewhere pointed out the US does itself a disservice by not encouraging foreign language education in our schools. One weakness of the CIA in recent decades has been the move to data intelligence away from human intelligence. HUMINT is hard to develop if you don’t have skilled speakers of languages used where you need to gather intelligence by making friends with locals.

[Bruce Campbells Chin]

I honestly don't see the contractual motive. A long-term contract almost certainly would be voided if the pipeline was destroyed so that performance became impossible.

My guess at this point would be simple spite by a pissed-off Putin, angry that Europe is looking at alternative sources rather than abandoning Ukraine.

[ought-six]

“Regarding languages I have elsewhere pointed out the US does itself a disservice by not encouraging foreign language education in our schools. One weakness of the CIA in recent decades has been the move to data intelligence away from human intelligence. HUMINT is hard to develop if you don’t have skilled speakers of languages used where you need to gather intelligence by making friends with locals.”

I couldn’t agree more.

[Widget Jr]

#58. There are other facts those accusing the US are ingoring.

• Nord Stream 2 AG, the company that owns the Nord 2 line, is in bankruptcy proceedings. These started right after the invasion and have been delayed until January.
• Nord 2 was never operational and Russia was gradually cutting off Nord 1 and stopped all flow on September 5.
• Germany is seeking long term natural gas contracts in Africa.

So what does this mean?

• Biden and Trump both got what they wanted, Nord 2 shut down, before the pipeline was sabotaged.
• The US needs Europe's support for the joint effort in Ukraine, cutting off their all their energy and making them freeze through winter is not what the US wants.
• Germany is DONE getting natural gas from Russia.
• Nord 1 and 2 are now just useless metal at the bottom of the ocean, before the sabotage.

So where does this leave Russia?

• Russia wanted to used oil and gas sales as political leverage in Europe.
• That leverage is gone as Europe buys energy from anywhere except Russia.
• For business or politics, Nord 1 and 2 are finished.

What does Russia get out of destroying its own pipeline?

Cutting losses and a threat to attack European undersea resources for Europe's support of Ukraine.