Nord Stream 2: More Than a Pipeline [Part IV: The Apparition of Sarajevo 1914]

The colossal underwater project, known as Nord Stream 2, is more than a gas pipeline. It is a symbolic solidification of the eternal and inalterable Russo-European connectedness.

 

Yesterday, all eyes were fixed on the Baltic Sea. Western, Russian, Chinese, et al. news outlets, all reported the Nord Streams’ sabotage. As I surfed the internet and read the different stories reporting the same incident, albeit that they all dated 27 September 2022, my eyes kept reading 28 June 1914. In every single piece, 28 June 1914 was the date I saw. For the semblance is striking as much as it is surreal. 

 

How so? More importantly, what happened on 28 June 1914?

 

 

On Sunday 28 June 1914, the Austro-Hungarian Emperor Franz Joseph lost his nephew and heir presumptive, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, to an assassination in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, orchestrated by the Serbian secret nationalist group, the Black Hand. An assassination that would set afoot a series of events, embroiling European Empires in an industrial warfare of unprecedented scale the world had ever seen hitherto—later to be known as the Great War, or World War I. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

OFFICIAL NARRATIVES AND PROPAGANDA then, identical in essence to today’s, sprung forth from illusory romanticism, grounded in pseudo-moral grandstanding. In truth, however, there was nothing romantic—much less moral—about that war; a sheer feast of blood and horror, that was. They all fell victim to their inner romanticism, and sinned unforgivably against mankind. 

As is the case in our present, there was a lot of contention between European powers, who swerved towards the edge of the precipice of brinksmanship. All it took for them to fall, collectively, was a push, a trigger, a gunshot to foment a casus belli. Notwithstanding, the renowned historian Cristopher Clark has revealed to us, in his “The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914,” with ample evidence that; none of the belligerent parties had a clear understanding as to ‘why’ they were actually going to war, and could even be considered frantically perplexed at its outbreak. In their own minds, nevertheless, they thought they knew—up to that point where war came at hand [emphasis added]. 

 

Question: Why had Franz Ferdinand, not Emperor Franz Joseph himself, been assassinated?

 

“In the period 1908–14 Franz Joseph held fast to his peace policy in the face of warnings by the chief of the general staff, Franz, Graf (count) Conrad von Hötzendorf, who repeatedly advocated a preventive war against Serbia or Italy.” Far more importantly still, “Franz Joseph had wholeheartedly supported the Ausgleich (the Hungarian Compromise) as the constitution of the Dual Monarchy, failed to grasp the negative aspects of that highly complex document. Interested primarily in questions of foreign policy and military leadership, he paid too little attention to domestic affairs to understand the nationalities problem in all its gravity.” (“Franz Joseph – The Hungarian Compromise and the Dual Monarchy”)

 

 

It was no secret that Franz Joseph and Franz Ferdinand did not see eye to eye on certain political matters; yet, they were of the same mind vis-á-vis preserving the peace by pursuing a moderate foreign policy. 

 

Domestically, the heir presumptive had vehemently criticized “Dualism in its favouring of the German-Austrian and Magyar ethnic groups above other nationalities,” whilst pressing “demands for a more inclusive treatment of the Slavs [my formatting].” With respect to foreign policy, Franz Ferdinand had forcefully opposed the aforementioned preventive war against Serbia and Italy; for military considerations, one must note; “As General Inspector of the Imperial and Royal Army, Franz Ferdinand was well-informed about conditions within the armed forces,” and suspected that they wouldn’t prevail in the event of war (Mutschlechner). Nonetheless, this disposition of his towards ethnic Slavs within the Austro-Hungarian realm—and his stance with regard to a preemptive war against Serbia—makes it nothing but pitiably absurd that his end should come at the hand of one. 

 

To his—and Sophie’s, of course—grave misfortune, the arms of propaganda [emphasis added] portrayed a vastly different person vis-á-vis the conflict in the Balkans; he was depicted as a warmonger.

To no one’s surprise, the ignorant and easily suggestible crowd (which hasn’t much changed in over a century since, I must say) believed the propaganda in the press; and had a cause that they were devoted to [emphasis added]; thus, they conducted themselves accordingly. 

 

It wasn’t the ‘heir presumptive,’ per se, the target of that misguiding propaganda and wicked assassination; rather, it was what Franz Ferdinand represented and stood for—he sought a stronger Habsburg dynasty with a coherent multi-ethnic social fabric.  

 

Has the analogy between Franz Ferdinand and the Nord Streams began to enter the picture, from your viewpoint?

 

Ever since November 2021, I have been continually alluding to the Nord Stream projects’ centrality to the contemporary Western-Russian antagonism, in light of the Ukraine conundrum: One has to be a totally blind halfwit in order not to see Nord Stream 2 at the very heart of this story (then the border crisis).

 

But, what are the Nord Stream pipelines, really?

 

As early as 23 September 2021, upon the announcement of Nord Stream 2’s completion, I propounded that, “The Nord Streams are integrative projects: a tangible proof of the Russian self-perceived European identity, as well as a concrete reassurance of Russian everlasting connectedness to the European whole.”

 

And, likewise, they have been the target of a fierce propaganda campaign—by Ukraine’s Zelensky and his Western sponsors, no wonder—portraying them as instruments of Russian imperialism; which they are not!

 

Conspicuously, the perpetrators of this impetuous and diabolical act of sabotage might have hoped it to be the Sarajevo gunshot; that it would constitute a casus belli for a Russian-U.S. war—one that would escalate so rapidly, as to prompt the activation of their nuclear arsenals. 

 

 

 

 

Thus, the question: who would stand to benefit most from an all out war between the United States and Russia?

 

Certainly, neither the United States nor Russia, on a state level, stand to gain anything from such a conflict—given the Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) configuration; which has governed their interrelations, ever since strategic nuclear parity has manifested between them during the second half of last century [emphasis added]. 

 

[For more on U.S.-Russian exceptionalism with respect to MAD, refer to my book on Apple Books, “U.S.-Russian Exceptionalism: Intelligence, MAD, and Détente”]

 

Surely enough, we cannot rule out corruption and personal agenda; such that a rotten apple may be present in either state.

 

Although I cannot point fingers in any direction, for I am no prophet or sorcerer. However, I may be able to render few assumptions that may contribute to the ongoing investigations.

 

An operation of this sort must have the following elements: a political agenda, a popular cause, or access to corrupt agents, and the capability for execution. That is to say, there must be a party, or parties, whose political objectives would be advanced as a result of a Russian-U.S. war; a sympathizer(s) to the cause, or a gun for hire (metaphorically speaking); and the latter must have access to the requisite capabilities to see the mission through. 

To narrow it down to the greatest extent, the orchestrator’s great and chief end is for the U.S.-Russian Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) to actualize. It could very possibly be any party that seeks an international system with no nuclear super-powers—that would, perforce, be a multipolar one; wherein they would inevitably gain preponderant influence on the international stage, in an ideal scenario. Or, they could simply be deranged pseudo-moralist(s). 

And, one can’t help but grow suspicious: Why was it timed to coincide with the Italian elections? Is there a correlation? If so, of what nature?

But the 28 June 1914 assassination plot had six assassins planted along the motorcade’s planned route. The first of which to have mustered the courage to act was Nedeljko Čabrinović—who threw a bomb, which failed to finish the task. His co-conspirator, Gavrilo Princip, was the one to fire the fatal gunshots at the Archduke and the Duchess. 

 

The point is, this may not be the Sarajevo gunshot, but its preceding unsuccessful bomb. 

 

Hence, I pray that members of decision-making circles in the Kremlin and White House bear in mind Robert Kennedy’s words with respect to his experience on the Ex Comm, during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, 

“Each one of us was being asked to make a recommendation which would affect the future of mankind, a recommendation which, if wrong and if accepted [my formatting], could mean the destruction of the human race. That kind of pressure does strange things to a human being, even to brilliant, self-confident, mature, experienced men. For some it brings out characteristics and strengths that perhaps even they never knew they had, and for others the pressure is too overwhelming.” (Kennedy 35)

 

In other words, I beseech them: do not make a Sarajevo gunshot out of this incident; instead, treat it as the unsuccessful bomb that detonated earlier; and, above all else, save no effort to avert the gunshot!

 

In fine, history does not have to conclude with a FRIED human race!

 

 

 

Related Publications: “U.S.-Russian Exceptionalism: Intelligence, MAD, and Détente;” “Sleepwalking back to 1914: A State of Imminent Danger of War?” “Zelensky’s Ukraine: An Asset or a Liability for the United States?;” “Nord Stream 2: More Than a Pipeline;” “Nord Stream 2: More Than a Pipeline [Part II: Migrants Border Crisis and Russian Military Build-up on Ukraine’s Border];” and, “Nord Stream 2: More than a Pipeline [Part III: Not an Imperial Russian Enterprise].”

 

 

Reference

“Franz Joseph – The Hungarian Compromise and the Dual Monarchy.” Encyclopedia Britannica, www.britannica.com/biography/Franz-Joseph/The-Hungarian-compromise-and-the-dual-monarchy. Accessed 28 Sept. 2022.

Kennedy, Robert F. Thirteen days: a Memoir of the Cuban Missile Crisis. London & New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1999.

Mutschlechner, Martin. “Archduke Franz Ferdinand – Heir to the Throne.” Die Welt Der Habsburger, www.habsburger.net/en/chapter/archduke-franz-ferdinand-heir-throne. Accessed 28 Sept. 2022.