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We're no longer in those days, since the fall of the Soviet Union, keeping the EU from competing economically and militarily has been a constant goal of US foreign policy. Need I remind anyone what happened to Nordstream. And this arguably started much earlier with Suez and the liquidation of colonial empires in cooperation with the Soviets.
The West may be allies on paper but the relationship is more that of a client, and the then pro-capitalist far right of the cold war has become more nationalist and against external influences and fealty, which makes them incompatible with US goals for Europe. Which is why they're now funded by the no longer communist Russians instead of the Americans.
Nordstream was a Ukrainian op
Says the American press after trying to pin it on Russia. And in a context of divided Ukrainian leadership.
I'm personally convinced it was the Brits, but who it exactly was that pressed the button matters little given they were most likely acting under American orders or with assent from them.
It benefits them tremendously, they have the capability and they specifically threatened to do it before the fact. You need a lot less to convict someone.
Can you expand on this? I haven’t heard this theory before and I don’t see what we’d have to gain. Unless purely sucking up to the US? Even we aren’t that self-sabotaging, although I can’t say that as strongly as I once might have.
Personally I would give 80% odds it’s some combo of Ukrainian and American op, on the basis of opportunity plus cui bono.
It's funny you haven't heard of the Brit theory because it's the one claimed by the Russians: that the same navy advisors helping the ukies in the black sea did it.
There's some circumstantial evidence that Lizz Truss sent confirmation to Blinken right after the event.
I'll readily admit this is mostly a hunch because the evidence of any party being the actual operator of the sabotage is scant. It's all hearsay even for the Ukrainian theory. We know the Brits have been doing a lot of other US dirty work-related to this war, so it fits into a larger picture.
It’s a very common Russian conspiracy theory that Britain is secretly pulling the strings behind the American empire and controls US foreign policy.
Understandable given the British role in Russian history I suppose.
I guess they may very well be playing off that, but Britain has also a pretty consistent track record of being America's enforcer in Europe. I'd be very surprised if they weren't involved to some degree.
Dear God, I wish. I won’t deny we’ve played spoiler on occasion (AUKUS). But as far as I can see British Government long ago gave up on any strategy except ‘suck up to (and cower behind) big bro’ and the rewards have been negligible.
I will never forgive or forget Obama making it clear that if we left the EU he would make sure we didn’t get any trade deals with the US. I cannot imagine a world where the UK did something the US didn’t like and it supported us because we’re allies. Or for that matter the US allowing any other western power to attain a non-client status or to pursue a genuinely independent foreign policy.
I believe Obama said that the UK would go to the 'back of the queue' for any trade deals, not taking a trade deal off of the table, but making it clear that the promises of some Brexiteers that the UK could just seamlessly move from the EU into a free trade agreement with the US were unrealistic.
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