[createdapril24]

I regret that Hersh's reporting relied on anonymous officials. That's not a dig on Hersh - this is the standard for journalism on these topics. As a standard it creates a deniability to any story that comes out e.g. "they probably made it up", "the source doesn't know what they are talking about", "the source is influencing the journalist for their own ends".

I think Hersh's article is interesting and useful however. There are specific details that journalists can dig into in the future to find validating hard facts. This may ultimately press a government to cop up to involvement over time, once enough evidence has mounted. That's not to say there aren't possible false leads and inaccuracies in his report.

For the linked article - it commits far more journalistic sins than Hersh's article - in an attempt to take it down. Through continued use of insinuation, analogies, and strawmen the author makes the strongest possible case that there's not merit to Hersh's argument - but for me it comes across as Sophomoric.

In terms of who destroyed the pipeline it is clear that the United States, United Kingdom and Ukraine had strong motives - and the US and UK capability. It's difficult to read commentary that dismisses these motivations out of hand as outrageous. Or at least, I'm coming in with priors that significantly diverge from these commentators.

[notafraudster]

There's nothing wrong with anonymous sourcing, but if your thing is based on a _single_ anonymous source, AND you've cultivated a reputation for being a credulous crank (see also the sourcing on the alternate universe Bin Laden writing Hersh did), AND you don't have any kind of editorial machine to back up your sourcing, AND the claim is incredibly inflammatory, then probably that's going to present a problem.

[0xDEF]

>For the linked article - it commits far more journalistic sins than Hersh's article - in an attempt to take it down. Through continued use of insinuation, analogies, and strawmen

Like what? Give some examples.

Hersh's article is just made up fiction. Hersh has a habit of making up "anonymous sources":

>As soon as he has made an assertion he cites a 'source' to back it. In every case this is either an un-named former official or an unidentified secret document passed to Hersh in unknown circumstances. ... By my count Hersh has anonymous 'sources' inside 30 foreign governments and virtually every department of the U.S. government.

[usrusr]

Doesn't have to mean that he makes them up though: when a group of professional "truth fabricators" (or rather "doubt fabricators", they don't really need their stories to be water-proof) has learned that he makes for an effective mouthpiece eager to believe he'll be swarmed with "sources".

[koheripbal]

> anonymous officials. ... this is the standard for journalism on these topics

Unfortunately, it's also standard for planted false stories.

It's notable that Hersh won the Nobel prize for producing photographic evidence of war crimes.

None of his anonymously sourced articles has ever been confirmed true

[nkurz]

> None of his anonymously sourced articles has ever been confirmed true

While not "confirmed true", I think this piece shows that later evidence strongly supported Hersh's anonymous claims in this case:

https://www.rootclaim.com/analysis/Who-carried-out-the-chemi...

It's an interesting style of analysis. You'll need to click on "Show more" below each section to see their actual evidence and reasoning.

[DeLeeuw]

I agree with you, but I would take Ukraine off the list, although they had a strong motive.

Ukraine's strategic cornerstone is international relations, without which they cannot win the war.

Ukraine would never risk upsetting Germany, the EU's biggest economy, with such a drastic operation.

[kspacewalk2]

Also, how would Ukraine pull off such a mission in a sea it has no access to?

[croes]

How many people do you need to blast a pipeline?

Don't have to be in line with the government of a country.

[aredox]

Russia also has that capability.

And one of the pipelines remains operational.

[kspacewalk2]

None of what you said mentions of any specific details of either article, whatsoever. What specifically is an example of an insinuation you object to? Maybe pick one straw man and point it out? Otherwise, what's the informational content behind all this verbiage?

[rexxxmi]

Until someone else can corroborate Hersh's story, or Hersh provides hard evidence, this is whole thing is a nothing burger.

[DeLeeuw]

The US was always opposed to Nord Stream and for good reasons. I'm in fact glad it's gone.

Many people already speculated it was the US, because Biden himself literally says "we will bring an end to it": https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OS4O8rGRLf8

With a smirk. Even when pressed how he is going to do it.

For me, Hersh' story is the secondary corroboration.

[fakethenews2022]

Until someone else takes credit for it, I'll take President Joe Biden's threat as evidence. Video link: https://youtube.com/shorts/FVbEoZXhCrM?feature=share

[pydry]

>I regret that Hersh's reporting relied on anonymous officials.

Nobody much wanted to talk on the record about My Lai or Abu Ghraib when it happened either.

[not2b]

Seymour Hersh's sources for My Lai gave their names and went on the record. The soldiers who revealed it went on TV and testified before Congress. I'm pretty sure that he had additional anonymous sources, but to get it published he had to be able to back it up.

Abu Ghraib was uncovered by Amnesty International and the international Red Cross and they had tons of photos.

[djur]

By the time Hersh first wrote about Abu Ghraib there had already been reporting on abuses by Amnesty International, and several days earlier some of the photos had been shown on 60 Minutes (as he mentions in the piece). The piece cites an Army report, credited to two named generals, and names seven suspects, six of whom were under active criminal prosecution. His report was published (and vetted!) by The New Yorker. The difference between that piece and this one in terms of sourcing and credibility is like night and day.

[JackFr]

Really? People absolutely went on the record about My Lai.