Former CIA analyst and peace activist Ray McGovern addressed the UN Security Council this afternoon. The council met to discuss the sabotage of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines last September, at the request of the Russian Federation. McGovern offered, among other things, a spirited defense of Seymour Hersh and his Feb. 8 report on the US plot to bomb the pipelines, making a convincing argument that Hersh has more credibility than those who would say what he writes is false. Citing the example of Colin Powell’s presentation of fake evidence of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction before the UNSC 20 years ago, McGovern said “those who are smearing Sy Hersh don’t have a good record of credibility.” He concluded by singing a verse of the song by Vincent Harding “Keep on Moving Forward, Never Turning Back,” and suggested a new stanza, with the words, “We Gotta Keep on Loving Our Enemies.” McGovern mentioned that Harding had helped in writing the speech in which Dr. King turned his attention to the atrocities of the Vietnam War – marrying the Civil Rights and Anti-War Movements around the fight for humanity as a whole.
McGovern also made a special appeal on behalf of children, like those he saw in the airports while he was traveling to New York, and called upon the council to do what is required for a future unthreatened by nuclear war.
McGovern’s remarks followed those of Columbia University Economics Professor Jeffrey Sachs, who also defended Hersh. In addition, Sachs called on the Security Council to require Sweden and Denmark to turn the materials developed by their investigations over to the Council. He said he hoped the US and all other members of the UNSC would condemn this act and join the international investigation to uncover the truth; otherwise, the credibility of the UNSC would be called into question.
