German leaders must unequivocally commit to disarming Russia of its cunning new weapon that spans the Baltic Sea – a weapon called, Nord Stream 2.
After all of Vladimir Putin’s destabilizing acts of aggression and global terrorism to date, it would be beyond foolish to allow Russia’s Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline to become operational under any circumstances.
Allowing Nord Stream 2 to go forward would constitute an unforgivable act of appeasement to a sinister KGB man who has an unquenchable thirst for power and a dangerous appetite for terror.
Based on the players who championed this pipeline, it is naïve to think of Nord Stream 2 as some altruistic infrastructure project meant to better the lives of the German people. Rather, the 1,200-kilometer-long barrel of this ‘gun’ was conceived to enrich the Kremlin’s corrupted German elites such as former German chancellor Gerhard Schröder, while giving Putin even more leverage over a nation that serves as a central pillar of 21st century Europe’s stability.
It is bad enough that Germany and much of Europe have become so shackled to Russian energy, which the Kremlin has already demonstrated it has no qualms about weaponizing. A Germany that decides to double down on this energy dependence via Nord Stream 2 – either now or in the future – will only serve to make Europe more vulnerable to long-term extortion by Putin and his gangsters.
During a February 7 press conference in Washington that hosted the newly minted German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, President Biden took a firm stance against Nord Stream 2 and made clear he would sanction the pipeline should Putin escalate his invasion of Ukraine.
Although Nord Stream 2 should be sanctioned regardless at this point, Biden’s stance was much more reassuring than Chancellor Scholz’s evasiveness in directly discussing Nord Stream 2.
As Putin presently threatens to unleash levels of chaos in Europe not seen since WWII, it is disconcerting to still see Germany’s top government officials so reluctant to forcefully speak out against a pipeline that Russia has so much to gain from and that Germany has so much to lose from should it become operational. Putin likely reads this as weakness on the part of Germany, and it will do far more to embolden his aggression against neighboring countries and allies than it will to deter him.
In the 2017 movie, Darkest Hour, Winston Churchill’s character powerfully states, “You cannot reason with a tiger when your head is in its mouth.”
In a similar vein, leaders of the West should understand that, ‘You cannot thwart a terrorist when you hand him a gun that he will hold to your head.’
For the sake of democracy, the West and Ukrainian allies on the front lines of a hybrid war that autocrats have declared against us all, Germany’s leaders must summon the strength to break the shackles binding them to Russia’s energy and pry this Kremlin-crafted geopolitical ‘gun’ out of Putin’s hands.
This hostage crisis won’t end well if they don’t.