Would love to discuss this with these people. There is no way that enough politicians and leaders of the financial sector could have been aware of this without it immediately leaking. The loonies and Tucker are having a field day, but serious commentators aren't coming to that conclusion. And I am fairly certain every news agency in the West didn't sign a non-disclosure agreement.
The consensus among those people whom I know and with whom I dialogue is that was another Russian miscalculation. Severing the pipelines was anticipated to cause an enormous outburst of anger against the pro-Ukrainian governments in NATO. Obviously it has not occurred. It would also be an implicit threat against other trans national lines and disarm, to some extent, anti-war elements in the Kremlin.
Secondly, this really isn't our style. Use the CIA or the military to overthrow an unfriendly government - sure. But to take an action like this which could rip apart NATO? I would have to see absolute proof.
More importantly, there was no need from the US perspective. The gas was already shut off. Europe was successfully garnering adequate supplies. No European government was truly threatened by an anti-Ukraine movement with the possible exception of Germany.
Finally, the economic argument (proposed in a couple of other posts) is ridiculous. Every cubic millimeter of US natural gas is sold - months, even years in the future. We can rest assured there are no plans to increase that production for some little while. Hence there is no market for a surge in US natural gas because there will not be one.
I am leaning more toward the Russians. Second would be Germany. Third would be aliens. US is a distant fourth.
For your evening entertainment, a bit of schadenfreude from my favorite Russian propogandist. If those darn troops would just fight according to regulations.
