Seymour Hersh’s Nord Stream report: Why Biden Administration is worried about its fallout

Seymour Hersh, a Pulitzer Prize-winning American journalist, has reported that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of the US carried out a covert operation last September that involved the bombing of three Nord Stream gas pipelines. This seems to have come straight out of a sci-fi plot but carries deep geopolitical ramifications. The gravity of the report could go to the extent of creating a divide in the trans-Atlantic alliance between the European Union and the United States. So, you might want to know who Seymour Hersh is and what he has done in the past as an investigative journalist. What does the explosive report mean? The two pipelines, known as Nord Stream 1 and 2, transport natural gas from Russia to Germany. Therefore, it could aggravate the gas and fuel crisis that has already gripped the European continent. Ever since the Ukraine war started, the European market has been bleeding due to rising oil and gas prices. This is partly the reason why European powers like Germany avoided imposing any sort of embargo or sanction on Russian energy despite deteriorating ties with Moscow. How could it turn the tables on the Biden Administration? According to the report published by Seymour Hersh, these pipelines were blown up at two points in a covert operation carried out by American operatives. The destruction was reportedly executed jointly by the US and Norway. There is nothing to corroborate Hersh’s report. However, if the report were to be true, it could come as a huge betrayal for Germany and other European powers that were relying on the supply of natural gas from the pipeline. As such the US and Norway are Berlin’s frontline allies. Therefore, Germany might as well question its allies for blasting its source of natural gas supply. Till now, the Western media narrative was simple- Russia had blasted the Nord Stream gas pipelines. This was in line with the Biden Administration’s vilification of Russian President Vladimir Putin. However, Moscow now gets to theoretically falsify the Western media version. It could as well try to use the report to drive a wedge between the European powers and the US Who is Seymour Hersh? He is a veteran journalist with vast experience in investigative journalism. He started his career as a police reporter way back in 1959. Thereafter, Hersh worked for publications like the United Press International in South Dakota and the news agency The Associated Press. He also had a little political stint of his own in 1968. Hersh then worked as the Press Secretary for the Presidential campaign of Democratic Senator Eugene McCarthy. The veteran journalist then spent most of his career as a freelance reporter and also covered the Vietnam war. The veteran journalist has past experience of writing for major publications like The New York Times and The New Yorker on national security matters. Why is Hersh a celebrated journalist? Seymour Hersh’s ability to publish exposes and explosive reports has helped him earn a reputation as an investigative journalist. He also won the Pulitzer for International Reporting in 1970 when he exposed the My Lai Massacre and its cover-up during the Vietnam War by the US Army. The report on the massacre then sparked off a lot of discussion about the issue, as Hersh revealed the killing of more than 500 people, including women, children and old men. There were also claims of young women and girls being raped by the troops. Hersh has had a great effect on US politics over the years. He even covered the Watergate scandal that proved too hot to handle for then-US president Richard Nixon. Hersh was able to expose political interference by the White House to get Nixon re-elected. Hersh’s reporting ultimately led to Nixon hanging his boots after a span of two years. In 1973, Hersh had also revealed the clandestine bombing of Cambodia. He had then written “United States B‐52 bombers made at least 3,500 secret bombing raids over Cambodia in a 14‐month period beginning in March, 1969.” Hersh’s reporting on Iraq invasion For The New Yorker Hersh wrote several reports on the Iraq invasion. In 2004, he covered the mistreatment of inmates at Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad by the US military. Apart from this, he also covered post-9/11 operations by the US and Iran. Hersh has worked for over six decades as a journalist. He is generally a respected and trusted reporter. His accolades including two National Magazine Awards for Public Interest, five George Polk Awards for exceptional long-form investigative or enterprise journalism and the George Orwell Award reflect his credibility. However, he has faced criticism in the recent past for making incredulous claims in his reports that frequently rely on anonymous sources. Now, we can’t corroborate or deny what Hersh has to say about the Nord Stream gas pipelines. However, one thing is quite clear- Hersh’s report could flare up the faultlines in the trans-Atlantic relationship. The US and powers like Berlin were already at odds over the Russia-Ukraine conflict. While the Biden Administration wanted to push back against the Russian energy sector, it had to go soft predominantly because of the European insistence on keeping Russian gas outside the sanctions imposed on Moscow. Seymour Hersh has had a tendency of exposing highly secretive operations carried out by the US. However, the report on the bombing of Nord Stream gas pipelines could easily be one of his biggest scoops in terms of the geopolitical consequences involved. The author is a columnist who writes on national and international affairs. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the stand of this publication. Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.