The World's Most Monumental False Flag? Sy Hersh on US Nord Stream Attack
Criminal acts of war with what ramifications?
At 85 years old, Sy Hersh is still humiliating the vast majority of Western “journalists”. Self-publishing on substack, Hersh is free of constraints and guaranteed (for now) to have an accessible platform. Having been shunned by the increasingly corporatized mainstream media to the point that his work was published as books, or articles in either the New Yorker or latterly the London Review of Books (Syrian false flag chemical attacks, Abu Ghraib atrocities, Osama Bin Laden's killing). Having been a staffer at the NYT, Hersh's latest is nowhere to be seen in its pages, despite it being one of the biggest stories of the 21st century, possibly the 20th century as well when one considers the true scale of the ramifications.
Hersh’s articles are all generally treated in the same manner. First they are met with: denial; forms of weak critique; degrees of snide ridicule: and some kind of ad hominem slid in by no ones. Next they are “debunked” by some form of intelligence service cut out. Eventually, they are largely validated by events, documents and/or increasing sources.
Hersh’s latest article is, naturally, not getting the kind of coverage it deserves, which in itself tells us that it likely deserves a lot of attention. He has already been subject to ad hominem sniping. As Glenn Greenwald goes to lengths to highlight, Business Insider calls Hersh a “discredited journalist” without justifying that claim. Business Insider’s repetitively claims that some of Hersh’s work has been “criticised”, notably by none other than Bellingcat, the UK security state cut out comprising a man in a London flat claiming to be some form of independent investigative expert. Judge Bellingcat’s track record for yourself. FYI The Guardian cite Bellingcat as a primary expert source, which speaks volumes. Business Insider tries to marginalise the entire article by stating that it is a “gift to Putin”. Greenwald does Hersh the justice he deserves in this episode of System Update.
It is deeply ironic that in 2015, Business Insider published 'ATTACK THE MESSENGER' - Seymour Hersh defends his blockbuster bin Laden story in which the ad hominem attacks on Hersh were listed and Hersh given some voice. Fast forward to 2023 and Mia Jankowicz does exactly that as though her article was “straight out of the [BAD MAN]’s playbook.”
VST has sampled the pushback to the article on some SocMed channels, which all repetitively parrot:
based on a single, anonymous source;
it’s a blog on substack;
no evidence.
These are the exact talking points being peddled in the MSM, which are obviously dealt with.
First, there is no way to know if the article is based on a single or multiple sources. Hersh is under no obligation to truthfully declare his sources but is obligated to protect all his sources. The article cites an anonymous source and Hersh has reportedly said: "It's a person, who, it seems, knows a lot about what's going on.” Source protection includes any technique to obfuscate the true number of sources. Citing a single source but then revealing details that couldn’t have come from just one source is a way of confusing the picture.
Second, “anonymous sources” are a fact of life, for good or bad, in journalism. Greenwald gives his straightforward take on this. Used properly, anonymity protects sources from prosecution, persecution and risk. Used improperly, they simply allow a shill to put out the establishment’s desired talking point with false legitimacy. There’s zero difference between “anonymous source” and unnamed “official source”. Search your media outlet of choice for both terms and how many articles come back? How many of them are ravaged for using unnamed anonymous sources?
Third, the suggestion that Hersh’s use of substack somehow delegitimises him or the article is nonsense. At a stretch, we might entertain that a possible lack of editorial control or input, combined with an implication that Hersh’s age suggests reducing mental capability would all add up, on substack, to an article that we should doubt. This is utter garbage. The article is expertly structured and written. If Hersh wanted support of any kind, he’ll have had it. What evidence is there that Hersh’s faculties aren’t up to par? Zero at this time. The medium - substack - doesn’t detract at all from Hersh’s standing, accolades, skill or sources.
Fourth, “no evidence”, as Greenwald says, is a non-sequitur. Hersh’s report based on source(s) is evidence. That’s the basis of actual journalism. The next valid step would be for others to examine the claims and start digging in to verify and further investigate. It’s possible that any article or claim comes up as bunkum under peer review (Russiagate/HB Laptop denial anyone?). Hersh welcomes critique and validation of his work. Two things will close the loop on the article: time and further sources. Chris Hedges happens to believe that the latter will come to the fore.
What does the article mean?
The key claims are that the US pre-planned the Nord Stream 1 & 2 attack before Russia’s invasion began, deliberately designed the attack to evade Congressional reporting obligations, used formal cover of BALTOPS 22 exercises to lay covert charges and was assisted by Norway. There is a possibility that Germany’s Olaf Scholz knew at some point or possibly was more involved.
Hersh directly names Biden, Nuland, Sullivan and Blinken as the key players.
Hersh explains the systemics at length, but downplays a key aspect of meaning or ramification:
The CIA argued that whatever was done, it would have to be covert. Everyone involved understood the stakes. “This is not kiddie stuff,” the source said. If the attack were traceable to the United States, “It’s an act of war.”
Hersh may be 85 and with “nothing to lose”, but that’s not really true. His reputation is as high as a real journalist’s ever gets and that matters. Also, he is so specific in details, methods, personnel and names that if what he’s printed is false, he is on the hook for massive libel from all the named parties. Why? Because of the article’s true meaning.
At the base level, the claims are:
Biden, Nuland, Sullivan and Blinken all conspired to commit a criminal act of war;
They targeted multiple US allies and Russia;
They had intent to evade Congressional reporting and oversight;
They deliberately created plausible deniability or distance via their choice of operatives.
The ramifications include:
The highest levels of the US administration committed criminal acts of terror and war against their own allies and peoples, constituting the largest known false flag in human history;
The attacks deliberately impacted and impoverished life for every citizen and business in the EU bloc and the UK, whose lives are impacted by the supply of Russian gas;
The US and Norway have committed deliberate and illegal acts of energy market manipulation, and they and others have exploited the resultant situation. Worse, the US and Norway definitely knew what the market outcomes would be, so the false flag enabled a form of insider trading. Consider that the UK is not dependent on Russian gas imports but does sell on gas it buys from elsewhere, and will have benefitted from onward gas sales in to the rising market after the NS sabotage. It would be no surprise if there was knowledge in the UK.
The architects of the operation and all persons involved have shown that they are willing and capable of damaging their own citizen’s lives on a monumental scale;
The US and accomplices committed one of, if not the largest gas emission event in history contradicting every aspect of any climate change narrative.
NATO nations entering a NATO Charter loop of logic: an attack on one is an attack on all wherein a collective, defensive response shall be considered. Gulp.
Sweden and Denmark, having conducted the “investigation” into NS and “clearing” Russia, have stayed silent about other findings, refused access and therefore have become complicit by their silence.
Other prominent people may have been in the know as well, making them complicit.
Fire up the Cognitive Warfare Machine
Hersh’s claims have been denied by the establishment. It is the style and manner of denial that is telling. Ned Price, US State Department Spox, is in the limelight. In Jan 2022, he said the US and Germany had issued strong statements in July 2021 about Nord Stream 2 implications in the face of increasing Russian aggression.
When asked three times about Hersh’s article, he may have given confirmation via incompetent denial. He was too instantaneously dismissive, he was unlikely to have actually read the article, and he was dead set on shutting down questions about the article.
Go to 01:39:07 in the following US State Department briefing to see Price's bungling denials.
https://www.youtube.com/live/r7jFIcgR_lw?feature=share&t=5940
Tucker Carlson summarises the situation:
What next?
Russia and China have both formally demanded answers from the US. The entire Western media is unjustifiably muted about the article and its claims, in similar fashion to the minimal reporting and near zero original curiosity of whodunnit?
This must be raised at the UNSC and maximal legal action taken, including ICC filings, regardless of Rome Treaty recognition.
Anything other than robust responses and exculpatory evidence is going to constitute degrees of admission. As Carlson says, Hersh’s article confirms what we all knew already (Jeffrey Sachs said it out loud ages ago), now Hersh carefully fills in the blanks.
All citizens should now rise up and demand specific action from each of their governments to investigate and maximally punish anyone guilty. Dutch farmers are being robbed of their farms under the guise of nitrogen pollution, but the US and Norway has committed a crime that dwarfs the pollution from farming, rendering the concerns about farmers moot. If they must have their farms stolen, what’s appropriate punishment for the US and its accomplices?
Hersh will never face libel charges, even though he is literally on his own out on substack and could never really afford a full scale libel case. The US and accomplices won’t let this go anywhere near discovery.
What is Hersh’s article?
VST posits that this article is a deliberate intervention from the source(s) for the express purpose of preventing nuclear war by maximally undermining the US Administration and delegitimising its further pursuit of the hare-brained Ukrainian “strategy”.
Biden is cognitively impaired. The power wielded by Nuland in Ukraine was already known to be off the charts. The whole approach to the conflict, while poorly obfuscated with the massive propaganda machines of the West, is an utter farce run by psychopaths and sociopaths. Checking that power by exposing them is probably a form of last resort. What else could be done? The conflict literally hinges around running as many Ukrainian citizens as possible into the Russian war machine, until there aren’t anymore citizens or someone feels like stopping. There’s no “win”, only an objective to have Russia spend money and blood for as long as practicable. This is flat out sociopathy.
That Biden, Nuland, Blinken, Price and others literally, repeatedly issued the threats around NS and subsequently expressed their smug satisfaction etc is a tell of the degree of unchallenged sociopathy that pervades the US administration and deep state.
Clearly some people in the state organs don’t agree with the status quo and operational decision making. They must have assessed that the stakes are high enough and the crimes egregious enough to have them exposed and contribute to calling halt, perhaps via mass revolt. If war wasn’t waging with nukes on the table, towing the line would result in nothing. But if the war keeps going to a terminal point, the sources who leaked the story may actually have decided that they couldn’t risk staying quiet past a point of no return.
In real terms, VST argues that the Ukraine war is pointless anyway.
To have the world end because of Ukraine would be insane, woudn’t it, Joe?
Hersh’s Legacy
Assuming the article is true and accurate, Hersh - one of the most decorated journalists of his generation - may have just played a key role in literally saving the world.
Time will tell.
