Perhaps our great, fake president could take it up withPu tin when the two will meet. But don't count on it. The Trumpster will say nary a harsh word to him.
Well, it makes sense to toss any leftovers rather than carry it around with you once the initial deed was done. Probably binned while driving off to Heathrow for the first flight home.
Events such as this make you aware of how impotent governments and military forces are in an era of intertwined economies and covert asymmetrical warfare. A hostile foreign nation can, directly or recklessly, attack British citizens on British soil without fear or prospect of repercussion more serious than a nasty letter. Global economic interdependence and mutually assured nuclear annihilation may indeed make warfare obsolete, but it has not made us safe.
2
The real issue here is diplomatic immunity. Twenty or more Russian ‘diplomats’ were allowed to board busses with all of their records and belongings without being subject to one question by British police or Scotland Yard. Had they instead been arrested and faced charges for conspiracy to commit murder, with long sentences hanging over their heads, answers would have been forthcoming. This antiquated system has to be addressed and overturned. It’s one thing for diplomats to be exempt from parking fines. But murder?!
1
Sadly this couple, one an alcoholic, the other an addict, have likely brought this about by their dangerous behavior. And by this I mean ingestion or contact with a dangerous subject, something they are used to. I hope somehow though evidence will show how the Skripals were contaminated and that it was unequivocally from Russia. Another blot on Putin and reason to worry about Trump's coming meeting with him...not that he would be similarly affected, but shows the destructive nature of this President.
I see our friends from the Russian Ministry of Truth have returned in force, assuring us that the UK got its hand on some Novichok and decided to poison two of its own citizens just to make poor Vladimir Putin - a man who is as pure as the driven snow and wouldn't hurt a fly - look bad. (Oh, and P.S. there was never an invasion of Crimea. Russian troops are totally not in Eastern Ukraine, and Putin's political opponents are just very accident prone and unlucky.)
I wonder what JudyW's new sock puppet account name is.
5
Have a great World Cup Putin. Whats your next operation when the games are over?
1
The implications leave the mind reeling at the permutations of events this could portend. Is there a larger cache of Novichok or its precursors somewhere in the UK? If so who positioned it there and to what purpose? Is this a deliberate provocation of the UK and if so to what end? Very disturbing.
4
All we know with a certainty is that Russia had nothing to do with it
How do we know? Putin and Trump will tell us.
2
Bruce Ivins.
His British counterpart did it. Russian intelligence wouldn't be that sloppy.
1
I say the USA did this. How about that? There is no evidence to claim anyone did it, but that does not stop the US or this Newspaper from implying that Russia did it. Hating Russia is a hundred year old bad habit we have. I like Russia and their beautiful World Cup, which is a great success. Making enemies is another US bad habit, when is far easier to make friends.
We are encouraged to hate Mexicans, and now all of latin America hates us, and we are supposed to hate China the most populous Country on Earth, and Muslims, the World's largest Religion, and Russia the largest country on Earth, and that is just a partial list. What do you think the World thinks of us? They hate us as they should. We do stink and we don't seem to care that we do.
Making friends would be so easy, but then we would not need the US Military Industrial Complex at all, so we won't do that. I don't like our chances.
7
According to Guardian: "The initial suspicion, according to police, was that it was drugs-related, but doctors were unable to identify the substance." Maybe some substances from the laboratory of Porton Down got into the hands of drug addicts?
3
I can hear Trump now.
"How do we know if the Russians were involved? It happened again and it was months after the first one! It's most likely an immigrant terrorist! From Iran! Leave Vladimir alone! He is really a good guy! Fake news! Fake news! No collusion!
3
And somehow no one has died from these poisonings yet.
Doesn't seem like an extraordinary chemical weapon, it that's what were used in either case.
Perhaps the most famous living English language reporter (print) thinks the March 2018 event was likely something done by the Russian mafia.
2
They’re in a critical state in hospital, so you may get your wish yet.
And yet our esteemed president wants to meet AGAIN in secret with the head of Russia, the country that hacked our last presidential election.
6
Paul Manafort. "We will find you and we will kill you". Keep your mouth shut.
3
Three bags full, sir...
1
You think it is Trump who ordered the killing to CIA? Could be. After all, CIA followed the torture orders, no question asked
1
It appears Putin's wet-boys tossed what they didn't use out their car window and these people unintentionally came in contact with it.. What a shame. And Trump is going to meet privately with Putin next week. I seriously doubt this topic will ever be mentioned.
6
And the wonderful British Sherlocks could not find it for 4 month after oh soo thorough investigation.
Who knows what role the Russians had with these latest cases, or what their motivation was if involved (I fear the worst). But I find it very disturbing that people are so publicly attacked with a Russian made, deadly nerve agent in a western democracy.
Putin clearly meant to send a message with the first round of poisonings, and like many Russian gambits there are probably layers and multiple audiences. All Russian ex-pats and turncoat spies are on notice. And the Russian people see the bravado and chutzpah of their president for life.
But I wonder if another audience consists of people aware or involved in Putin's efforts to disrupt our democracy and perhaps run Trump as a foreign asset. Paul Manafort is up too his eyeballs in Russian slime and could tell quite tell quite the tale if he flips. I bet he and his family are much safer with him quiet and in jail.
Lastly, I sincerely hope Trump and his House handmaids don't blow the cover of our assets or intentionally leak information that might prove deadly to those overseas who help secure our nation.
1
At the time of the attack on the Skripals, Russia claimed that it could be the work of rogue agents with no connection whatsoever to Russia. It could be that this incident was the result of some novichok remaining unfound, and this couple unfortunately were contaminated by accident. But, since they have absolutely no connection with spies or Anglo-Russian frictions, Russia can claim that a rogue agent is on the loose in the UK. Since they were able to send whoever came to poison the Skripals, they can do it again and again.
2
it is apparently true. The poison is on the loose in the UK.
Nerve gas attacks in other countries, shooting down passenger planes, "liberating" adjacent territories... and on and on... And the now all-too-familiar murkying of the circumstances... (All right out of a memo from the Russian Chief of Staff).
And meanwhile, Trump (who twitters and comments on *every* topic under the sun) remains silent on anything concerning Russia?
What a great "investment" Putin and his gang made in election tampering and no doubt channeling massive amounts of money into various Trump, "businesses"
3
"Paul Mills, a police official" - have the decency and journalistic integrity to accord him his rank!
2
Let us hope this case is not linked to a possible 'unknown unknown'. Imagine if a demented individual manages to order the recipe for this poison on internet and decides to test its effects before unleashing a massive yet silent act of terror in a crowd situation. Recent spree shootings and other terroristic acts confirm the nefarious amplifying effect of internet on evil individuals who commit such crimes with zero sense of accountability.
1
I believe it is blantantly irresponsible for any country, and with the help of the MSM, to be making accusations against another country without verifiable evidence to back up their charges, evidence that would hold up in a court of law. Where are the investigative journalists that should be asking questions? We should all be suspect about accusations being made before a thorough investigation.
9
Deadly nerve agent contamination sites — almost like unexploded land mines in a previous war zone.
5
A coincidence that this (yet again) nerve agent ATTACK (yes it is, it sure isn't some residual material accident from the prior ATTACK) occurs:
a) just days before a Putin-Trump major tete-a-tete
b) in the same small village where the prior attack occurred, very nearby a British military poison research station is?
Coincidences? I think not. I think this is a Putin tour-de-force timed and planned for all the world to see. Another stroke aimed at weakening a strong important NATO country. Putin is toying with all of them, including the USA.
Will Trump back out of his conference in protest of this aggressive attack on a fellow NATO member? That is unlikely too. Isn't it?!!!
We need to resume thinking LOGICALLY, don't we? Let's get back to science, logic, analysis. Please.
3
Western democracies must heed and respond to the obvious reality facing them: they are under armed and unprovoked attack from a hostile state run by thugs. Let us not mince words. This is war.
Britain is one of America's closest allies, if not the closest. Though much smaller in scope, in principle, this attack is no less serious than the 9/11 attack on New York City.
Meanwhile, the President of the United States, coddles, praises, legitimizes, enables and schmoozes with a murderer of innocent civilians on allied soil as well as his own.
Russia, whose official organs of governance lie compulsively and flout all known norms of international commerce, is no longer simply an ongoing threat. It is engaging in acts of war to which western reaction is alarmingly tepid.
7
What response do you propose? Nuclear bomb?
The Conveniently Gullible Mr. Trump to Mr KGB Putin:
“Did you have anything to do with the poison attack in England?”
Putin’s Reply: “Not I. But I know who did.”
Trump: “Okay.”
2
I like the British have adopted the system we used to use here before the GOP destroyed our government. That is government personnel don't speculate about things, they do not "need" to say anything other than "we are investigating" and they focus on the facts.
Most likely scenario is that the hitter who went after the Skripal's disposed of their left over debris in this park and this couple managed to come into contact with it.
But wouldn't that harm animals? Dogs, rats, cats? And what this debris was there unchanged for 4 months? Nobody bothered to clean it up? if the investigation would be so thoroughly, why investigators look in this debris? One would think they should look for disposed poison or gloves.
5
Could have been in a sealed bag or container.
@yulia
It wasn’t in Salisbury, where the first attack occurred and where the earlier operation and clean-up centred. This occurred in Amesbury, a few miles north of Salisbury - assuming this was a remaining bit of the original poison (which the police are using as one hypothesis), it could have been dumped after the event as the attackers left the scene (maybe straight to an airport?). Theoretically then it could be anywhere and no decontamination unit could cleanse every square metre of an entire country.
There have been warnings since the first attack that there may be undiscovered areas still - the police have only so far traced the Skripals’ routes that day, not how the chemical entered the country or where it went beforehand.
The logical presumption is that a state actor like Russia is somehow behind this. If not, then a very troubling question arises: how did a private actor receive access to such chemical weaponry? We often focus on nuclear proliferation, and for good reason. Yet, chemical weapon proliferation and biological agent proliferation are important issues as well, and ones that have long been routinely ignored. My thesis is that the EU will be breaking up in coming years, with Brexit just a harbinger. The breakup of the EU will actually empower Russia, and the world will be quite a dangerous one indeed.
2
If you cannot even trust Putin in a situation where the lives of British citizens is in danger because of Russian’s actions, why is it that the US President wants to meet him.
Does he “need” to get more instructions for the government of the USA?
11
What are the odds that Mr. Trump presses Mr. Putin on this? See:
https://www.nytimes.com/video/opinion/100000005935591/trump-and-putin-a-...
1
The world has proved that Putin is untouchable. He's currently also on a massive high since his long awaited American coup came to fruition far better than he had ever envisioned, and the World Cup, of course, his wonderful photo op. All topped off with a global scoop: the sycophantish visit by Trump; his fawning American friend. Before that, however, A bunch of republicans take a taxpayer jaunt to Russia over July 4th, just to lay the groundwork about how they plan to sell out America.
If you had writing such a script, it would have been tossed aside as being too far-fetched.
14
Trump to Putin: "Did you have a hand in this latest poisoning?"
Putin to Trump: "Nope, not me."
Trump to Media: "He said he didn't do it, and I believe him."
World to Trump: "What a sap!"
8
Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. The Skripal story fell apart months ago upon the simple facts: the alleged "weapons-grade" poison kills instantly, and the Skirpals had a merry afternoon eating and drinking before going comatose and then admitted according to the doctors at the hospital for "opioid overdose", -until MI5 showed up and the diagnosis was changed. Really, we indulge these war-mongering delusions at the expense of the safety of our children.
14
@Neocynic: "The Skripal story fell apart months ago upon the simple facts: the alleged "weapons-grade" poison kills instantly, and the Skirpals had a merry afternoon eating and drinking before going comatose and then admitted according to the doctors at the hospital for "opioid overdose", -until MI5 showed up and the diagnosis was changed."
Citations please.
4
Hey, it doesn’t “kill instantly”, and there is a dose-response curve.
A physician MD
6
The Times (UK) just two days ago said that paramedics and police thought the victims were overdosed. It was about late poisoning, but is there anything to suggest that the diagnosis of the first victims would be other?
1
Trump has the perfect excuse to forgo shaking hands with Putin. Genuflecting is clearly the safe option.
17
This is just the subtle as a sledgehammer Putin killing a few others to try and "show" the UK, that it was not Russia but some kind of home-grown crazo. With access to nerve agent only (as far as we know) available in Russia? He really doesn't care, just trying to add to the chaos to make the stupid doubt.
3
With formula being published, the poison can be synthesized by anybody.
4
Trump had his chance for any moral high ground over Russia when asked about Putin’s trail of murders.
His reply was hey, we’re killers too.
Putin couldn’t have scripted that any better. The message was clear from our President:
Carry on comrade, I’m on your side.
41
Putin!
7
Do we think Mr. Trump will ring this up in his meeting with Putin? I don't believe so.
9
This calls for additional sanctions against the Putin regime by the UK and the rest of the Western world, including EU, Canada, Australia and New Zeland. Putin's buddy (or debtor) Trump may not go along with it, but that should not prevent the rest of Western alliances to proceed. What Putin did in the UK and Kim Jong Un did at the busy Malaysian airport are grossly criminal acts that cannot, and should not, be ignored. Their acts amount to the poisoning of the whole planet, recklessly, indiscriminately.
14
Ms Barry, re the 2 critically ill people in UK exposed yesterday to the Russian nerve agent that sickened British citizens in March: we are watching the development of a perfect storm today.
If the Russians caused the second Novichok nerve agent attack in Britain's Salisbury area, why did this happen? Nerve agents were invented in Russia for the sole purpose of efficient mass slaughter. They have been used by the Russian state to murder enemies of Russia.
At the same time, we need to look to what is happening in America -- President Trump's demented policies for immigration, global trade, and his grotesque legacy of unintended consequences which are yet to be revealed to the American people and the world.
Also, bringing up the rear is the climate warming and death of living corals in the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. Climate warming -- denied totally by Trump's party, Tea Party, G.O.P. Creationists, as "a hoax!" -- in conjunction with waves of immigrants from Central American and Mediterranean Rim countries of Africa, seeking new lives in the U.S. and Europe, is a mass migration of peoples.
This tide of desperate change (akin to post WWII refugees from Germany's genocide) -- is only now being recognized, and will not be turned back. The confluence of nerve poison, the influence of Russia in cyberattacks on the West, huge migrations, and the mass deaths of living creatures in the world's seas is a perfect storm happening to us all in the present day.
8
Fine to assume nothing and let the evidence guide. But, some things are no-brainers and require leaps of logic over plodding data collection. One such result of plodding is the absence of investigation and decontamination of ALL sites possible due to the contact with the assassins. How irresponsible can police be? The Russian assassins are out to show their capability and reach. Do the police think they care about sloppy poisoning of anything on their path to a target? Visibility is the terrorists stock and trade. Do a thorough job THINKING next time.
Vladimir Putin shoots down commercial airlines, murdering hundreds of innocents. Vladimir's intelligence officers hack democracy voting stations. Vladimir Putin's assassins kill Russians who have fled from his madness, and additions collateral damage once again come to the door of the World court.
Why have a U.N. Hague court, when they are useless to address world criminal warlords, in a timely manner?
16
because as any normal court it requires evidence, not wild accusations.
2
This is beyond deplorable. Russia and Putin clearly wanted to send an existential message to any potential spies who might contemplate "flipping" and the safety of innocent Britons was considered by them to be "collateral damage".
Trump needs to demonstrate our immutable commitment to our UK Allies by cancelling the Putin-Trump summit. This is an absolutely necessary minimal response since this incident was obviously a direct result of Russian crimes. It represents an act of war on the part of Russia and therefore requires additional steps like sanctions, action in the UN etc.
If Trump doesn't take these actions (as a minimum) , this would be direct and irrefutable evidence of his conspiring against the interests of the United States.
14
This is similar the anthrax attack in the US in which Dick Cheney blamed on Sadaam Hussein. This Russian nerve agent was developed long ago and has been used by others than the Russian gov't. It seems the earlier attack was a wild accusation based on political considerations.
18
Nonsense. The conclusion that Russia carried out the initial assassination was the result of a careful process carried out by the British police and intelligence agencies who were in close consultation with the intelligence agencies of their allies including the United States.
c harris wrote:
"This is similar the anthrax attack in the US in which Dick Cheney blamed on Sadaam Hussein. ... It seems the earlier attack was a wild accusation based on political considerations."
11
At least we know now that that not only the Russian have this stuff, but that the UK, the US, France and even Germany has this stuff in their labs.
5
C Harris, what evidence do you have for your claim that non-Russians have produced and used Novichok? The form used to poison the Skripals was also the latest most sophisticated derivative wasn't it? Trump reportedly has a visceral fear of being poisoned. Is it really a coincidence that going towards Trump's meeting with Putin this deadly and dastardly form of assassination and revenge is forefront in the news?
2
I am not an expert in nerve gas agents, but I believe they cannot remain intact in the environment for more than a few days. That is why every time there is a chemical weapon use, UN experts rush to the site to collect evidence before the chemicals break down.
If I am correct, it makes it very difficult to link this incident of Novichok release with the last one and blame Putin and Russia for it. It actually raises some hard questions about the origin of the last nerve agent release, in particular when Britain's major chemical weapons' laboratory is not too far from Amesbury.
22
Eddie,
some of the WW1 poison gas is still active and still poisonous in some parts of the trenches and bunkers of WW1.
9
Apparently this agent takes months to break down and that is why so much effort was expended on decontaminating all of the places the Skripals had been. Clearly they didn't get it all.
6
You are wrong. Apparently this nerve agent is virtually indestructible in the environment. That is why the U.K. authorities spent so long with their decontamination efforts.
So, Porton Down is not far from Salisbury. What is the relevance of that? Do you think there may have been an accidental (or deliberate) release of Novichok from there? In which case why were the other millions of people in the area unaffected?
The only question raised is how is the weather in St. Petersburg comrade?
5
But Trump keeps telling us that Putin is a good guy.
22
What are the chances Russia's use of chemical weapons in England is broached as a topic of conversation when our alleged President meets with Putin?
7
Zero chance of any discussion of substance between The Donald and Putin. The Donald will fawn and Putin will lie - that is the script.
10
See, Russia is innocent, Mr.Trump.
6
This latest deplorable incident grievously harming two British citizens, on English soil, is but a continuation of an initial act of Russian terrorism perpetrated in a foreign country. It is a brazen and reckless act of war, that should clearly and forcefully be condemned with, inter alia, the further expulsions of Russian personnel from Great Britain, particularly Putin-linked oligarchs.
For us, the important question is how will we respond to this assault on our closest ally. With this Fake President in place who has already purposefully damaged our long term relationships with Britain and Europe the answer is readily apparent. By doing little, if anything. Our totally compromised "lover of all things Russian" will not say or do anything to interfere with his upcoming, welcomed reunion with Putin. Once again, the American public continues to ask "What leverage do these international gangsters in Moscow have on Trump"?
14
"Before they collapsed, the two had spent time in the Queen Elizabeth Gardens in Salisbury, which is a short walk from where the former spy and his daughter lost consciousness."
The geographic proximity justifies the hypothesis that the poisoning is directly related to the first incident. For the same reason, it is likely that the same agent was used again, though tests should be able to verify that. Why, one wonders, after the first incident didn't they also clean the areas where the assassins were likely to have been? Of course it is theoretically possible for different labs to make the same compound. Some experts are suggesting that the couple was poisoned by something that the assassins left behind, but it sounds as if the police are considering a wider range of possibilities.
(May we all agree ahead of time to simply ignore the nonsense that the Trump Fox Republican cult is sure to say about this? I can imagine for instance that we will soon here something along the lines of: "This was done to undermine Mr. Trump who is presently attempting to negotiate with Russia.")
18
Where would be assassins “likely be”? They could have stayed in London, driven to Salisbury, smeared novichok over a doorknob then driven back to catch a flight. They could theoretically have “been” anywhere in England. With Litvinenko the police could track a radiation signature from an airport to a hotel to a sink in the hotel to the restaurant to the table to the glass and back to the airport on the man who handled it. It went everywhere - a flight in, meet, poison, leave, fly back. Novichok leaves no such trail, so any leftovers wherever they are will only be found by accident.
Let's see, Russia is currently hosting a very successful World Cup and may wind up playing against England; NATO leaders are scheduled to meet in a week or so and will likely be discussing.... Russia; in less than 2 weeks President Trump will be meeting with Russia's president, Putin. Hmmm, what would Russia gain by bringing more wrath of the West against them?
12
This was almost predictable. The previous poisoning in the UK grabbed all the headlines when Theresa May was in serious political trouble, and now she is in serious trouble again. Coincidence? I think not. Once again she will be able to look "Churchillian" in "defending her country" against a wicked foreign capital (a distraction trick as old as politics).
As an added incentive for the current false-flag operation, there is a successful-looking Russian World Cup that needs spoiling.
10
Okay, so why? I get so bored with conspiracies that don’t apply logic. “She wanted a distraction” - what from? We all know how awful Brexit is going, we all know how the government are in pieces - it’s literally all over the news nonstop 24/7. But no-one’s even bothering to follow it because we’re already “distracted” with football and England still being in the tournament. So why would the government bother? The Salisbury area lives and breaths Tory and has done for decades. If Theresa May wanted a distraction- assuming she’s that cunning or intelligent, which she patently isn’t - why would she poison her own voters which she so desperately needs right now.
The silly conspiracies just don’t match the reality of the political establishment in England nor current affairs. Now if, say, Islington North got nerve-gassed, or Brighton, then maybe your theory might (might) hold water. But no.
Here's my theory- Russian agents could have attacked someone at random, in an attempt to sow doubt about the first attack and convince Trump that Russia is a victim in all of this. Never underestimate Russia's ability to sow about, especially when it comes to Trump.
30
The level of paranoia is impressive. And to think the right is considered the party of conspiracy theorists.
10
I'm still waiting on ANY kind of actual evidence that Russia/Putin himself was behind the first poisoning. It's remarkable how people asking for evidence are immediately vilified and smeared as internet trolls. Truly a post-truth society.
Of course this will be blamed on Russia too. It's just the thing to do now.
21
@Julia: "I'm still waiting on ANY kind of actual evidence that Russia/Putin himself was behind the first poisoning. It's remarkable how people asking for evidence are immediately vilified and smeared as internet trolls. Truly a post-truth society."
This nerve agent is supposed to have been developed in Russia and has a very distinct chemical signature.
Perhaps the burden of proving that you are being hoaxed should be on YOU.
After all, we are truly a post-trust society.
1
We know that it's Russia developed nerve agent developed in a Russian military lab for use on Nato troops. The Russians have denied it's usage just as they denied shooting down the passenger plane and the use of chemical weapons in Syria.
What proof do we have that you're not a Russian bot?
This is not a chemical weapon that can be made in your basement. The Russian certified the destruction of their chemical weapons. These same Russians certified the destruction of Syria's chemical weapons. You know the ones that have been used at least twice on civilians since Trump became President.
1
According to your logic, sarin could not be used by Syria, because it was developed in Germany.
1
Why not call it what it is - poisoned. Same number of letters as sickened which could also mean "affected with disgust' something I am sure the couple exposed to a deadly neurotoxin did not experience.
4
Russia again? Probably; but accident? GOP is in Russia as we speak making secret deals. Vote out GOP for change. Ray Sipe
19
To me it makes it now look like someone other than the Russian have this poison as well and the whole thing was a setup. But of course this is just another brazen attempt to vilify Russia by the business interests that will profit most from it.
17
Really?
9
Could another possibility be a rogue chemical weapons scientist? It happened before with the anthrax attacks in the United States.
20
Very unlikely, and almost impossible. This type of nerve agent is not that hard to synthesize - a good organic chemist might be able to do that - but very hard to synthesize, package it and survive all that, i.e. not get poisoned oneself. You really need the infrastructure, the personal and the setup to make these. Plus, if even a tiny amount gets out and all your neighbors drop dead, it's a big giveaway, too, which is why these agents were made in isolated, highly secure locations many miles away from residential areas, in case something does leak out. In a number of ways, it's quite a bit harder than making the crude form of weaponized anthrax send by mail here in the US over a decade ago.
8
It turned out to be not true. The poison is not so deadly. Two victims did survive. Considering the movement of first victims, there was amazing no other bystanders-victims. Sure, there was policemen, but he survived as well, and recovered amazingly quick. So, one thing we know for sure the deadly poison is not so deadly.
5
Pete, what do you know about how Novichok is produced? It is reported to be five to ten times more powerful than VX. And, as you point out, production would surely require a very sophisticated facility to prevent accidental exposure to those creating and packaging it. Who other than North Korea, Russia, Syria and other known practitioners of targeted killings of critics and opponents produce and use these? Occam's Razor points to Putin doesn't it?
It's not a secret that Russia's "official" guiding doctrine states that they should destabilize the west in order to make themselves more powerful. The only people who deny it are the those who stand to benefit and the populist leaders that got themselves elected off of Russian help, money, and psyops.
In the United States, the right-wing has become an agent of this destabilization while they unironically claim that liberalism is destroying the West.
103
A Church Lady would have said: "How conveeeeeennnnient…here come another "poisoning" just before Trumps meeting with Putin…
Even Zerohedge is skeptical: "Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu said the substance which has left two people critically ill in Amesbury was nerve agent Novichok.
The same agent that was allegedly used to poison former Russian spy Sergei Skripal just a few miles away (who miraculously survived the 'deadly' nerve agent along with his daughter).
So why are "the Russians" now poisoning some random - non-former-Russian spies - British people?
One can only wonder at the timing of this second seemingly random poisoning with a deadly nerve agent coming so close to President Trump's scheduled summit with President Putin."
Maybe the same folks who are trying to disrupt the Syria negociations, or the troop withdrawals from North Korea…could it be the military industrial complex is feeling pressure? Profits are about to drop? CEOs about to take pay cuts? Generals feeling the pinch of lackluster budgets? Not enough money being thrown at them to justify their existence?
Inquiring minds want to know…
22
Nope. Inquiring minds don't buy ridiculous "they did it to make us look bad" arguments.
Georgian plane shot down near border with Russia: "Georgia shot it down to make Russia look bad."
MH17 is shot down over Ukraine: "Ukraine/US/NATO did it to make Russia look bad."
Skripal and daughter are poisoned: "UK/US did it to make Russia look bad."
It gets tired.
61
Or, a bit more simple and demonic, Russia attempted to murder two people with a deadly nerve agent, a tiny bit was leftover, these two people touched it, and might die. That is enough crazy. And a joking tone about people who are suffering and might well die is entirely inappropriate, and awful. This is real.
84
Oh, yes. Probably the same people who also shot down MH–17, just to embarrass poor Vladimir Putin. They probably murdered all those journalists and bombed that apartment building, too. We all know that Vladimir Putin is as pure as the driven snow.
49
This is, unfortunately, quite possible and likely true. A key reason why modern nerve agents were never used in actual warfare is that they are hard to target, might get blown in your own face if the wind changes, and they kill and maim indiscriminately, friend or foe alike. The novichok group of nerve agents were notable by their high toxicity (very little is needed to kill) and their persistence - unlike most other nerve agents, these ones are quite stable in the environment, and remain toxic for days, weeks or months. Which is why the news of these two new victims is entirely plausible, and why the Soviet Union back when did not consider them suitable for military use - they are like invisible chemical landmines with highly variable locations. However, they will do just fine as weapons of terror, which is what they were used for here - to terrorize. While I doubt that hurting these newest two victims was intended, some indiscriminate killing or maiming of others was certainly considered an acceptable consequence by those who ordered and executed the poisoning of the Skripals.
65