24 Mar, 2023 15:40

Seymour Hersh makes new Nord Stream sabotage claim

The Pulitzer Prize winner has alleged the US blew up the pipelines because it was unhappy with a lack of German support for Ukraine

US President Joe Biden ordered the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines because he was unhappy with the level of support provided by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to Ukraine in its conflict with Russia, veteran investigative journalist Seymour Hersh has claimed.

Hersh first accused Washington of destroying the key European energy route in an article released in February, and made more allegations in an interview with the China Daily newspaper published on Friday.

“The [US] president was afraid of Chancellor Scholz not wanting to put more guns and more arms [forward for Kiev]. That’s all. I don’t know whether thatit was anger or punishment, but the net effect is that it cut off a major power source through Western Europe,” Hersh claimed.

Despite attempts by the US to deny its involvement in the Nord Stream attack, “Europe is in crisis now” and Biden will receive “a lot of criticism for what he did” in the coming months, the journalist argued.

The Pulitzer Prize winner alleged that “the people that were initiallyasked to do the job“ of destroying the pipelines were contacted by US National SecurityAdvisor Jake Sullivan towards the end of 2021.

The initial purpose of mining Nord Stream 1 and 2, built to deliver Russian gas to Europe through Germany, was “to give the [US] president an option to say to [Russian] President Putin, ‘If you go to war [in Ukraine], we’re going to destroy the pipelines,’” Hersh claimed.

Biden himself publicly confirmed that stance but “unfortunately, those people in the Western press seemed to have forgotten,” the journalist stated.

Just under three weeks before the launch of Moscow’s military operation in Ukraine, Biden warned during a press conference on February 7 that “if Russia invades… there will no longer be a Nord Stream 2. We will bring an end to it.”

According to Hersh, the US leader decided to order the detonation of mines at the bottom of the Baltic Sea last September because the conflict “wasn’t going great in Ukraine” from a US perspective. There was “at best a stalemate” during that period, in what Hersh described as “the American war that President Biden was so eager to support.”

(Is it possible Bidan gets arrested, not for all the crimes he’s done in the last 60 years, but because a NATO country, the US, ordered an act of war on an Allie? Along with other crimes.)

https://www.rt.com/news/573530-biden-scholz-hersh-germany/

24 Mar, 2023 17:04

Moscow warns against cluster munitions for Ukraine

Those urging Washington to supply such weapons to Kiev should be aware of the consequences, Russia’s deputy foreign minister says

Congressmen pushing the Biden administration toward supplying Kiev’s forces with cluster munitions should note theimplications such deliveries would have for NATO’s own security, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov has said.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, he said US lawmakers are apparently unaware of the potential consequences such a move would have for the security of the US-led military bloc or the prospects of normalizing Moscow-Washington relations.

His comments came after four republican congressmen officially asked US President Joe Biden on Tuesday to send cluster munitions to Ukraine, specifically dual purpose improved conventional munitions (DPICM), dismissing concerns that such a shipment could escalate the conflict.

Republican senators James Rischof Idaho andRoger Wickerof Mississippi, along with representativesMichael McCaulof Texas andMike Rogersof Alabama, argued that Washington should not hesitate to send the controversial weapons, which are banned in 110 countries== under a 2008 UN treaty, due to “vague concerns about the reaction of allies and partners and unfounded fears of ‘escalation.’” (Guaranteed these people are funded by MIC, and the believe every BS story they are told)

The request came after Ukraine asked the US Congress to press President Biden to approve the delivery ofMK-20 cluster bombs, which Kiev intends to drop on Russian forces from drones. Ukraine had also asked the US for155mm artillery cluster shells.

Washington has yet to officially approve the delivery of any cluster munitions to Ukraine, with National Security Council spokesman John Kirby saying in December that “according to our own policy, we have concerns about the use of those kinds of munitions.” The US is barred from exporting such weapons by law.

There have been multiple reports of Kiev’s forces using Soviet cluster weapons in residential areas, both before and after Moscow launched its military operation in the country last year. One such incident was the March 2022 bombing of Donetsk, when a Tochka-U missile with acluster payload killed over 20 peopleand injured dozens of others. Kiev denied responsibility for the attack. Human Rights Watch said in May that it could not verify the events.

https://www.rt.com/russia/573546-ryabkov-us-cluster-munitions/

24 Mar, 2023 04:21

North Korea unveils ‘radioactive tsunami’ weapon

Pyongyang claimed the system is able to “annihilate enemy ship groups” without detection

North Korea has tested a new “underwater nuclear strategic weapon,” claiming the platform can produce a “radioactive tsunami.” Pyongyang claimed it has been forced to strengthen its “war deterrence” amid a flurry of military drills by Washington and Seoul.

A series of tests were carried out between Tuesday and Thursday this week by the North Korean military and were overseen by supreme leader Kim Jong-un, the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported. The trials were intended to confirm the “lethal strike capability” of the new “secret weapon,” which has been dubbed “Tsunami.”

“The mission of theunderwater nuclear strategic weaponis to stealthily submerge into the operational area… and annihilate enemy ship groups and major ports of operation by generating asuper-powerful radioactive tsunamithrough underwater explosions,” the outlet said, adding “This nuclear unmanned underwater attack craft can be put into operation by towing to any coast or port or surface vessel.”

With development starting in 2021, the system has reportedly undergone some 50 rounds of tests behind the scenes over the last two years, and was created to “check the military and technological superiority of the imperialist aggressor army,” KCNA added, referring to the United States.

Pyongyang said it faced a “dangerous”security situation due to a near-constant stream of US-led military drills with South Korea, which the DPRK has repeatedly denounced as rehearsals for an invasion. It added that Washington’s hostile stance made it “imperative for us to prioritize the quantitative strengthening of the nuclear force,” stressing the need for a “stronger war deterrence.”

North Korea has carried out scores of weapons tests in recent months – including several intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launches – as a demonstration to the US and its regional allies. While American officials have denounced such tests as provocative and damaging to stability in the Asia-Pacific, the DPRK has insisted on its right to advance its military capabilities, and says its nuclear arsenal is for defensive purposes only.

Despite ominous warnings from Washington regarding the DPRK’s weapons, however, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Wednesday that there is “no indication” that an “actual strike by North Korea is imminent,” suggesting Pyongyang poses no immediate threat to the US or its partners.

https://www.rt.com/news/573495-north-korea-radioactive-tsunami/