I saw no mainstream reporting that claimed Russia definitely blew up the Nordstream. Got a link?
I was wondering if you thought the Russia did it, back in the early news cycle.
Did you think Russia did it?
My point isn't the semantics of the news. My point isn't whether or not people used the word "definitely" or "100% certain!" when telling everyone that it sure looked like Russia did it and giving all the reasons why Russia would do it.
Again, my point: Early on, did you think Russia did it?
Separate from that question and not important compared to that question, here's a sample of news from that time period, if you want to look at it:
"Russia Blows Up Gas Pipelines, Declaring an All-Out Energy War It May Already Have Lost"
https://time.com/6218125/russia-gas-pipelines-energy-war/"Russia’s Attack on Nord Stream Pipelines Means Putin Has Truly Weaponized Energy"
https://www.heritage.org/global-politics/commentary/russias-attack-nord-stream-pipelines-means-putin-has-truly-weaponized"‘Only Russia’ could be behind Nord Stream leaks, says former German intel chief"
https://www.politico.eu/article/russia-nord-stream-pipeline-could-be-behind-nord-stream-leaks-says-former-german-intel-chief/"Ex-CIA director shares the most likely suspect for Nord Stream leaks."
https://youtu.be/9p6mWnT8G2c"The US has said it "seems" Russia is to blame for this week's leaks in the Nord Stream gas pipelines."
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-63084613"Why would Putin sabotage the Nord Stream pipeline? | Russia Ukraine update"
https://youtu.be/cWdKK06-7EE"Why Putin would want to blow up Nord Stream 2, and the advantages it gives him"
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/09/27/putins-nord-stream-2-sabotage-sends-warning-will-blow-pipes/"It may never be possible to determine definitively whether Monday’s underwater explosions at the two Nord Stream gas pipelines were the work of Russian sabotage, but it is certainly the way to bet."
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/sep/27/whether-or-not-russia-was-behind-the-nord-stream-blasts-little-was-at-stake"Nord Stream: Ukraine accuses Russia of pipeline terror attack"
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-63044747What I saw on here was a bunch of Eaglerisms of, "Oh the US is so corrupt. I bet it was Brandon that did it!" and it made no sense to me that it would have been the US.
Biden publicly stated -- with certainty -- that the US would do it if Russia invaded. Since it so vowed, the US saw the sense in doing it. Since there were reporters asking about it, they saw the potential sense in doing it.
https://youtu.be/OS4O8rGRLf8?t=81Also, Russia controls the input to the pipeline. If Russia didn't want gas going in, it could just not pump any. On the other side, you have the US stating that it would certainly destroy Nord Stream. The US benefits in multiple ways: by wrecking something that could generate money for Russia, removing something that increased Russian impact in and influence in Europe (especially at a time of fuel shortages in Europe), and eliminating potential supply that would result in more gas purchase from the US.
I hadn't given enough Ukraine enough consideration because I just didn't think they had that capability
Cap, you read history. You know the vast history of geopolitical covert maneuverings, British colonial exploits, manipulation of popular opinion, CIA covert ops, Cold War, Cuban Missile Crisis, etc. You know that governments (US included) use news and mouthpieces to roll out narratives and influence public opinion. Is it "tinfoil hat" to think that the early news cycle, pointing to Russia blowing up its own pipeline, wasn't credible? Lots of folks thought that. Now we are on to "Ukraine did it". That also seems unlikely (at least to the extent that they did it without help or initiated it). To lots of folks, including to Seymour Hersh.
And a lot of people are failing that generational moral test. Period. Full stop.
The US is contributing weapons and cash ($70 billion so far) and spearheading sanctions. There are other atrocities that happen in the world. Even now, ones almost no Americans know and news doesn't care about, Darfur, Mayanmar, for example. If we aren't out there advocating for substantial US involvement all of those, too, are we failing morally?