This "explanation" strikes me as nothing more than an attempt to downplay Seymour Hersh's article that lays blame on the USA & Norway. Taking out Nordstream accomplished 2 goals:
Crimps Russia's income stream
Destroys Germany's industrial base
The 1st one would be good for Ukraine, that's who invaded them. But the second one does not. Why would "pro-Ukraine" forces take out a historical ally and one they need right now? Easy answer, they wouldn't.
But, taking out Nordstream does serve US interest as well as Norway. Norway has gas to sell as does the US. With Nordstream gone Europe must seek other sources. And while it is short-term bad for Russia, they can build new pipelines south to China (& India) who have huge need for their resources.
But this is absolutely devastating to Germany as it is a producer economy, it must have inputs (power & chemicals i.e. natural gas) to work. They have coal but it will be costly to repurpose for this. They make the majority of precursors needed for their other industries. Fertilizer, plastics, paints, pharma, and so on which rely on cheap natural gas. They also need grid capacity to run the factories that produce these things. All this alongside the general consumer need for power & heat. So losing Nordstream is a double hit. It will take them a decade or more to dig out from the avalanche that just started sliding down the mountain. And that's if they decide to reopen & expand their nuclear plants. Add their demographic crash and they are nearly a dead man walking.
German companies like BASF (major chemical producer) just shut 2 huge factories in Germany but, they are building a new one here. It doesn't matter if you paid for it. (If the factory isn't on your landmass you ultimately don't control it.)
None of the above takes into account Germany's pathetic military. It's a mess. Depending on which article you read less than half of their planes, tanks, etc. are operable. I mean why bother when the US backstops NATO? So on top of all their energy problems they have Russia to worry about and only a weak military to deal with it. They are fucked anyway you look at it. Article below from 2018, it hasn't gotten better -
This "explanation" strikes me as nothing more than an attempt to downplay Seymour Hersh's article that lays blame on the USA & Norway. Taking out Nordstream accomplished 2 goals:
Crimps Russia's income stream
Destroys Germany's industrial base
The 1st one would be good for Ukraine, that's who invaded them. But the second one does not. Why would "pro-Ukraine" forces take out a historical ally and one they need right now? Easy answer, they wouldn't.
But, taking out Nordstream does serve US interest as well as Norway. Norway has gas to sell as does the US. With Nordstream gone Europe must seek other sources. And while it is short-term bad for Russia, they can build new pipelines south to China (& India) who have huge need for their resources.
https://peoplesdispatch.org/2022/09/03/100-years-of-russian-gas-for-india/
But this is absolutely devastating to Germany as it is a producer economy, it must have inputs (power & chemicals i.e. natural gas) to work. They have coal but it will be costly to repurpose for this. They make the majority of precursors needed for their other industries. Fertilizer, plastics, paints, pharma, and so on which rely on cheap natural gas. They also need grid capacity to run the factories that produce these things. All this alongside the general consumer need for power & heat. So losing Nordstream is a double hit. It will take them a decade or more to dig out from the avalanche that just started sliding down the mountain. And that's if they decide to reopen & expand their nuclear plants. Add their demographic crash and they are nearly a dead man walking.
https://www.dw.com/en/germany-number-of-young-people-falls-to-record-low/a-62584549
German companies like BASF (major chemical producer) just shut 2 huge factories in Germany but, they are building a new one here. It doesn't matter if you paid for it. (If the factory isn't on your landmass you ultimately don't control it.)
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/feb/24/basf-cut-jobs-energy-crisis-germany-recession
https://businessfacilities.com/basf-commits-780m-complete-louisiana-chemical-plant-expansion/
None of the above takes into account Germany's pathetic military. It's a mess. Depending on which article you read less than half of their planes, tanks, etc. are operable. I mean why bother when the US backstops NATO? So on top of all their energy problems they have Russia to worry about and only a weak military to deal with it. They are fucked anyway you look at it. Article below from 2018, it hasn't gotten better -
https://www.dw.com/en/germanys-lack-of-military-readiness-dramatic-says-bundeswehr-commissioner/a-42663215
https://www.bignewsnetwork.com/news/273582284/germany-army-cannot-defend-the-country---defense-minister