Top Economist Draws Controversy After Arguing Biden Admin Destroyed Nord Stream Pipelines

Jeffrey Sachs gives a discussion in Trondheim, Norway, on June 21, 2017. Michael Campanella/Getty Images

Columbia University economist Jeffrey Sachs suggested that the United States may be responsible for destroying part of the Nord Stream pipelines last week, triggering a Bloomberg TV host to interject.

Sachs floated the idea that the Russian natural gas-carrying line was hit by the United States or one of its allies and not Russia. He argued that the United States would benefit from the destruction of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines because it would force Europe to not cave and return to using Russian natural gas amid the ongoing Ukraine war.

The Nord Stream 1 pipeline delivered billions of cubic feet of gas from Russia to Germany over the years. The Nord Stream 2, meanwhile, was not yet operational but had methane inside.

No nation-state or group has claimed ownership for the alleged sabotage attack. Both the United States and Russia have denied claims they were involved, and the source for the explosions last week is still not clear.

“A lot of the world is watching these events in horror,” Sachs told Bloomberg. “They view this as a horrible clash between Russia and the U.S. They don’t see this, as we do in the media, as an unprovoked attack by Russia on Ukraine.”

He added that “most of the world doesn‘t see it the way we describe it. Most of the world is just terrified right now, frankly.”

Going a step further, Sachs—the head of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University—asserted: “I would bet (the explosion) was a U.S. action, perhaps U.S. and Poland.” The Bloomberg host, Tom Keene, then quickly interjected and asked Sachs to provide details.

A gas leak from Nord stream 1 in the Swedish economic zone in the Baltic Sea in this picture taken from the Swedish Coast Guard aircraft on Sept. 28, 2022. Swedish Coast Guard/Handout via TT News Agency/via Reuters

More Details

For his claims, Sachs did not provide any direct evidence. He pointed out that the United States government could benefit from the Nord Stream sabotage, questioned publicly available statements made by Biden and top administration officials, and suggested that radar data showed U.S. military presence in the area of the damaged section of the pipeline.

“Well, first, there is direct radar evidence that U.S. military helicopters that are normally based in Gdansk were circling over this area,” Sachs said. “We also had the threat from [President Joe Biden] earlier this year that ‘one way or another we are going to end Nord Stream.’”

“We also had a remarkable statement from Secretary of State Blinken last Friday in a press conference where he said ‘this is also a tremendous opportunity,'” Sachs added, referring to a comment Blinken made in Washington, D.C., that the pipeline outage is a “tremendous opportunity” for Europe to “remove dependence” on Russian natural gas.

Sachs, who was an economic adviser to Russia immediately after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, noted, “That’s a strange way to talk if you’re worried about piracy on international infrastructure of vital significance.”

The economist stated that his comments go “counter to our narrative” and “you‘re not allowed to say these things in the West.” However, he stressed that “all over the world when I talk to people, they think the U.S. did it.”

“Even reporters on our papers that are involved tell me ‘of course’ (the U.S. did it), but it doesn’t show up in our media,” Sachs said. He didn’t elaborate.

Pentagon Statement

A Pentagon official last week that “the jury is still out” on what actually happened to the pipelines that carry Russian natural gas to Germany.

When asked whether any U.S. involvement could be ruled out, the official said that “we were absolutely not involved.”

Officials in Germany and the European Union have suspected that the damage to two pipelines was an act of sabotage. The incident was reported Monday evening as the lines were seen spewing natural gas into the Baltic Sea.

An international investigation into the pipeline damage is now underway.

The Epoch Times has contacted the DOD for comment.