As the US deploys additional troops in Poland and Romania amid Russia’s troop deployment along its border with Ukraine, the political stand-off, and a dangerous warmongering rhetoric between Washington and Moscow hides a lingering strategic issue for both countries: Nord Stream 2, an undersea gas pipeline expected to increase Russian gas exports, bypassing Ukraine. It is a major energy project that Washington has tried to derail for years. Ben Nelson Former US Senator for Nebraska from 2001 to 2013 John Herbst Former US Ambassador to Ukraine from 2003 to 2006 Senior Director at Atlantic Council Eurasia Center John Foster Former World Bank Economist, Author of “Oil and World Politics: The Real Story of Today’s Conflict Zones”