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Opinion | If the US is not behind Nord Stream explosions, it should have no reason to block a UN investigation
- An incident with such grave environmental, energy and security implications should be properly investigated with the guilty party held accountable
- Having appeared to blame Russia for the explosions, the US should welcome an international investigation – unless it has something to hide
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Once, according to Chinese legend, there lived a county magistrate by the name of Ye Gong who loved dragons. Ye had them engraved on the columns of his house, painted on the walls, and etched on his bed.
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Moved by Ye’s adoration, a dragon decided to descend from the heavens to pay him a visit. However, at the first sight of the dragon at his window, Ye was almost frightened to death before running for his life.
Ye has long gone, but his spirit lives on – perhaps rather surprisingly in the Biden administration.
When the explosions on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines in the Baltic Sea were first reported last September, the White House alleged that Russia was behind the attack. To many, the move signified the Biden administration’s readiness to embrace an investigation into the incident.
Such an inquiry would do much to substantiate its accusation. However, at a recent United Nations Security Council session in New York, the US fiercely opposed a resolution calling for a UN-led inquiry into the explosions.
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The debate at the UN was prompted by a report on February 8 by Seymour Hersh, an American Pulitzer Prize winner, claiming that Washington was involved in the incident. It provided supposed details of the planning of the covert operation, alleging that US Navy divers planted the explosives that destroyed the pipelines.
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