I just saw on a newsfeed, that the Russians launched a criminal investigation into the Skripal case and the other death.
Will Britain cooperate?
4
So similar to what we know of the mafia.
1
Are we sure MI6 hasn't been watching too much television again? After all, they did take the little green balls in their Iraqi WMD report from The Rock, at least if the Chilcot Report is to be believed. The UK did just have a television series about Novichok (Strike Back: Retribution)...
On a more serious note, no evidence has been presented for this claim, and when asked to present evidence, the UK government's semi-official response was "shut up and go away." The last time nobody challenged similar claims made by the UK government about WMDs, hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqis' died. The stakes are even higher now.
6
Trump sees France and wants a parade. Trump sees the Phillipeans and wants capitol punishment for drug dealers. Trump sees Putin killing people with nerve agents????
2
Putin "is" at war with the West.
4
Before Putin is re-"elected" or more accurately appoints himself Leader again, hopefully tech savvy British and Russian youth will spread the word online in Russia that their Leader ordered the cruel chemical death of a Russian citizen - Ms. Yulia Skripal - among other innocent civilians thereby contributing to the Russian's population's economic troubles. Not to mention all the wealth Putin and his cronies have stolen from virtually everyone in Russia.
3
As much as I believe that Putin is a murderous thug, and that Russia is a rogue state, I also have serious doubts about Boris Johnson’s characterisation of events. This is a man who courts controversy and an co-engineer of Brexit. He loves a headline. Accusing a head of state of complicity, without publicising precise evidence, in a high crime fits into his personality profile. I’m tempted to go with Jeremy Corbyn who urges caution while evidence is gathered. The alternative is a very serious east west rift.
Britain might have been better advised not to allow sanctuary to oligarchs and gangsters before claiming indignant angst over attacks on its sovereignty.
2
For all of you who are ready for war with Russia, have you asked yourself why the Russians waited 8 years after he left Russia to poison him? This makes no sense to me at all but I heard that the MI6 agent who recruited him is a friend of none other than Christopher Steele. This is very interesting if true.
5
If Putin didn't personally order this attack, then I conclude that 1) it was a rogue player within the Kremlin or 2) these illegal, deadly weapons are easily stolen by anyone who wants them.
1
Of course they did exactly as the used radioactive poison on a former spy in London in a tea shop and I believe residence. The scientific “markers” or “dna” is to speak are clear to England’s intelligence services science experts. Putin’s claiming they staged it is classic KGB Cold War stuff.
2
Putin was trained as a spy and has KGB written on his forehead. Although he was elevated to the presidency, he still thinks like an intelligence operative and would have no qualms about ordering an ex-spy's murder. He was immersed in the spy culture and just cannot quit it. It is all contained beneath his icy cold eyes and inscrutable face.
1
Assassinations are a Russian expertise. In June of 1914, the Russians used Serbian assets to kill the Austrian Archduke and spark the First World War. Gavrilo Princip was one of several armed men stationed along the Archduke's motorcade. The Serbian mastermind behind that had been doing the Russians' dirty work since 1903 when his men killed the pro-Austrian king of Serbia, to be replaced by a pro-Russian king. Serbia then became a Russian puppet. In July of 1914 another assassination, in Paris, covered up up years of war-scheming by a Franco-Russian cabal. Details are in my book "Twelve American Wars."
1
Let's see if our British friends are willing to indict Putin.
1
In Russia for the Presidential election you have your voting choice of three nominees, Putin, Putin or Putin. Kind of like what Hillary did to Bernie.
Teddy Roosevelt said in 1905, after he had brokered the peace conference that ended the Russo-Japanese War, that the Imperial Russian government of the time had raised mendacity to an art form. Little has happened in the ensuing century and more to change that point of view, regardless of whether the government of the day was tsarist, soviet or whatever one wants to call the current version
.
Putin is ex-KGB who worked in East Germany, the most Stalinist of the former Soviet satellites, until the USSR imploded in 1989. It takes a substantial amount of willful self-delusion to convince oneself that this man has changed in any substantial way. President W. said, when he met Putin for the first time, that he'd looked him in the eye and gotten a sense of his soul. If he'd looked more carefully he would have seen a lot of dead bodies in there too. I have to wonder just what it is that the Kremlin has on Trump to keep him so quiet: it must be pretty good.
2
Which one - Boris or May has the nuclear button handy ?
Putin plays by his own rules, Trump follows as his yes man. I do hope what our founding fathers had put together in 1776 can hold the fibers of what is left of our government so that we may yet have a nation that exists to still govern. Poisoning, cyber grid shutdowns, what does this tell us? It tells me I fear it is slipping away, history repeats itself. I fear I sound as bad as our second president John Adams when he feared for his country. Let us pray for this world!!
2
We should not be too surprised at Putins actions.
While the US looks back at Ben Franklin, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson as heroes, all of whom believed in democracy, Putin looks back on a history of autocracy.
The Tsars often murdered to achieve or stay in power. Peter the Great ordered the torture of his son, while Catherine the Great engaged in a plot to kill her husband. And during the period of communist rule, Stalin was even more murderous than the Tears.
But we shouldn't underestimate Putins intelligence.
Yes, Trump was right to seek negotiation instead of constant confrontation to help Russia evolve into a freer society.
But Trump suffers from a huge character flaw himself.
He doesn't understand that international politics with Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping requires meticulous preparation, and consultation with experts.
Trump seems to believe he knows enough to negotiate with world-class chess players with no help from others.
And Putin is ruthless. He will not stop at murder, as recent events make clear.
Why is the negotiator for our team somebody who believes he knows everything, and yet constantly reveals he has no understanding of economics, or history, or foreign affairs?
Yet I voted for Trump because I could not vote for a woman who would bargain away my right to due process.
Clinton had a prominent supporter, Gloria Allred, whose shaming of men with no due process makes a travesty of constitutional rights of the accused.
2
This is what happens when Trump does nothing about the interference in our elections and hacking our infrastructure by the Russians because they have something on him.
3
Expelling British diplomats after they expelled Russian diplomats—for a war crime on the streets of Salisbury? Elementary indeed, Mr. Peskov, but that seems to be Russia's only mode these days.
1
Dictators, especially popular ones such as Putin and Xi, will not stop pushing the envelope until their actions engender unacceptable consequences for them. It is time America and its allies made that happen.
However, political murder is old-school and retail. What we really need to worry about are internet attacks. Americans work on the incorrect assumption that something can be done electronically to prevent such attacks. To the contrary, every bit of evidence indicates that the only real solution is to isolate our critical systems from the internet.
We went to war in Iraq over phony claims of weapons of mass destruction. What happens when an enemy is able to take over targeting or launch control of our own very real WMDs? Even as the unavoidable vulnerability of the internet becomes more and more apparent, we wallow in greater connectivity, endangering not merely our bank accounts, privacy, and personal security but, more importantly, the security of our infrastructure, productive capacity, and government communications, as well as the military's command and control.
It is one thing for individuals to choose to live in self-delusion, pretending they are not trading their privacy and security for the "joys" of Facebook, Google, and their iPhones. It is an entirely different matter when a society engages in such self-delusion. On this, we need leaders to be real leaders, because the way things stand now, it would give ostriches a bad name to compare Americans to them.
4
Dictators, especially popular ones such as Putin and Xi, will not stop pushing the envelope until their actions engender unacceptable consequences for them. It is time America and its allies made that happen.
However, political murder is merely retail. What we really need to worry about are internet attacks. Americans work on the dubious assumption that something can be done electronically to prevent such attacks. To the contrary, every bit of evidence indicates that the only real solution is to isolate our critical systems from the internet. We went to war in Iraq over phony claims of weapons of mass destruction. What happens when an enemy is able to take over targeting or launch control of our own very real WMDs?
Even as the unavoidable vulnerability of the internet becomes more and more apparent, we wallow in greater connectivity, endangering not merely our bank accounts, privacy, and personal security but, more importantly, the security of our infrastructure, productive capacity, and government communications, as well as the military's command and control.
It is one thing for individuals to choose to live in self-delusion, pretending they are not trading their privacy and security for the "joys" of Facebook, Google, and their iPhones. It is an entirely different matter when a society engages in such self-delusion. On this, we need leaders to be real leaders, because the way things stand now, it would give ostriches a bad name to compare Americans to them.
4
"Most likely".
"Overwhelmingly likely".
Are these people kidding?
Are they nuts?
If they have solid evidence of a crime, let them present it.
This just reads to me like a bunch of seedy politicians looking for a distraction from their abysmal record - using fear to keep their sorry keisters in office.
How to hold on to power?
Easy.
Create an axis of evil.
Resurrect the cold war.
Works every time.
The media love it.
5
Many people in Britain find Boris Johnson amusing and larger than life like Mr.Bumble in Charles Dickens novel never short of a trite comment aimed at Europe or Russia the old arch-enemy from GREAT GAME era. Salisbury spy story unravels with the brash British Defense Secretary ordering Russia to SHUT-UP upped the ante. Russian government seemed shocked. Russian request for proper investigation under OPCW rules declined by Britain; or access to inspect chemical agent to verify its origin; released in the town affecting many residents. For years Britain welcomed many Russian oligarchs convicted of fraud from the Yeltsin days. Britain now paying the price of inviting too many Russians of dubious character like Russian defectors. Also the left-wing Labor leader in trouble accused of Russian sympathizes for not following the call to arms against Russia. A very British affair with Boris doing his usual routine with a sinister sub-plot with murder and mystery.
1
Which and whose banks is most of these Russian oligarch's money sitting in?
Where have they parked their mega billions in real estate? Ditto yachts.
We can easily pull their money plugs if we really wanted to. But we won't.
1
Killing domestic traitors on foreign soil is reprehensible and against international law but it is not an unprecedented act. However, using a nerve gas - a potential weapon of mass destruction - in a public space is a whole new ballgame. Very little analysis on this fact has been done publicly. Yes, Putin wants to send a message to potential traitors that he can get them anywhere. Maybe Yes, Putin wants to look strong ahead of the elections (which he will win anyway, and I am not sure that an average Russian is impressed by gassing an opponent in London, so probably a weak argument). However, these goals could be met by more conventional (and equally gruesome for the victim) means. So why gas in public? Really difficult to understand. Send a message to the West? What would that message be? Extra curricular activity by rogue elements? Hard to believe in Putin's Russia. Someone trying to make Putin look bad? Hard to imagine a player who would simultaneously possess the capability AND calculate that it could remain hidden.
Surely, there is an intense back channel communication between Western and Russia's intelligence community. These communications are much more frank and down to business than official proclamations. It will be interesting to see what the fallout is. If it stays within expelling diplomats and slapping some meaningless sanctions, it will signal that an explanation has been shared, and an understanding reached. We will never find out the truth.
2
My internet searches on Trump indicate, at best, Trump has only said, "It looks like . . ." Russia was behind the poisoning. I have seen nothing that indicates that Trump has forcefully, directly assigned responsibility to the Russians or to Putin.
Thus, "It looks like . . ." Russia has castrated our President, for he lacks the fortitude to be as brave as Nikki Haley.
1
I believe that the first thing a person should do is to see the truth. The truth about global business is that it isn't any different than business within our country or within our states or within our counties or within our towns. It is an act of war at all levels with varying degrees of devastation. One side attempts to wreak as much damage to the other side as possible and if possible to take control of the "enemy". Even when there are "allies" standing together, even they in many ways hinder each other in the end goals and operate with apprehension in being allied.
According to Sun Tsu the purpose of war is to advance the goals of the state. Von Clausewitz said it was to achieve an end state different and hopefully better than the beginning state. Those two fellows are generally considered the two most renowned military philosophers.
But within those definitions, one has to ask “Whose state is it and who is setting the goals”. What does the “better end state” look like by whoever it is that believes war is the means by which the advancement or the betterment of the state should happen?
The regular man on the street, his life is about home, food, safety, explore life’s amazement's, family, possibly a connection to God? And the average woman on the street! How many see their children leaving for war with a smile on their face? So, what level does this belief that war is the means by which the state becomes better?
Would you like to play "thermal nuclear war"?
3
I think I once heard that as well from someone standing on my doorstep. But it never hurts to hear it again.
1
Business isn't about war and the parallels you make are not appropriate. Business, whether local or global, is designed to meet a need of a consumer. To deliver goods and services and to improve the human condition. The competition to meet that need improves quality and efficiency and drives human ingenuity and creativity unlike any other institution. It isn't about destruction and devastation, it's about innovation, improvement, progress and evolution.
3
By Global business one might say Globalization. No country more evident than Russia was able to do so with the dissolution of the old but with the creation of the few, Oligarchs. The world is their past time and they have more than likely purchased not only ostentatious paintings and properties, but most certainly politicians with of course a pledge to honor Russia no matter the cost. The real playground of course is where Capitalism roams free and the citizens are made to obey.
Boris is a wise politician: whether he is correct or not - he is on the front page now, later if he is proven to be correct then he is a hero, if he is not then he simply can just apologize briefly - that is not much to lose ...
He was front page a couple of weeks ago, showing off his jogging skills. He should stick with that. Getting coverage for political pronouncements can always backfire.
Politicians are the best at solving crimes!
It is so inspiring to read the uniform support of the article thesis in the comment section, with no single doubt in sight.
It just like back in the USSR ...
1
It's amazing how Russia doesn't change. From a country ruled by despotic absolute monarchs, the Tsars, to a country ruled by the despotic Stalin and his successors to today, ruled by a secret police academy graduate where opposition politicians are gunned down in the streets and where journalists are also murdered with impunity.
14
Mr. Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the Labour Party, has pointed out that the Tory government of Mrs. May has provided no proof, other than her own assertion, of the Russian origin of the attack.
What possible motive would the Russians have for such a bizarre killing?
1
Britain's nonpartisan domestic security services have investigated the atrocity in Salisbury, and reported their findings to the government. Russia has plenty of motives for the killing, not least sending a message that Mr. Putin's enemies will find no safe haven anywhere in the world.
As for Mr. Corbyn, he is a known sympathizer of the current Russian regime and likely does not have Britain's national security interests at heart.
7
Non- partisan doesn't mean impartial. Should we wait for opinion much more independent experts than British one?
It is important to realize that Corbyn's challenging questions have apparently not yet been answered by PM May. Isn't it Corbyn's responsibility to open the issue to examination and clarify the government's statements?
Is a 'Rush to Judgement' happening? Why was Corbyn jeered? Emotional Hysyteria???
Why dont we wait until all the facts are clear, as it has been less than a month since these tragic deaths?
Sufficient time for a thorough investigation?
1
"Says Britain", he is NOT speaking for all of Britain - the Labor Leader has warned against McCarthyism in this. It could just have easily been the Russian Mafia, there is no evidence. But, in the age of Trump, fake news and trial by Twitter and MeToo, I think we should redefine Dr Emmet's famous line from the "Back to the future" movie, "Evidence? Where we're going we don't need evidence".
3
One can only hope that these cases will not drown in secrecy like several others ...
2
The comment sections on our English newspapers are being overun by Russian trolls at the moment.
This is everything that Putin planned. Weaken the UK/EU with Brexit, and facillitate an American President that is complant.
These UK attacks are blantant boundary testing.
Its extremely frightening.
" Vil Mirzayanov, 83, said the chemical was too dangerous for anyone but a “high-level senior scientist” to handle and that even he – who worked for 30 years inside the secret military installation where novichok was developed and gained extensive personal experience in handling the agent – would not know how to weaponize it."
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/mar/16/russian-spy-poisoning-at...
And
'Police launch murder inquiry over death of Nikolai Glushkov '
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/mar/16/police-launch-inquiry-ov...
9
I am totally shocked. America would never do anything so egregious, apart from helping the Saudis decimate Yemen, destroy Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan, support the scoundrel Erdogan, and overthrow the elected (albeit corrupt) Yanukovich in Ukraine. Russian interference in American elections by comparison is a joke.
6
Well, I see that Putin's trolls have come out in force with their perfectly absurd defense of this obviously corrupt dictator and his equally gross minions. He'll thank you for your failed efforts, Im sure, but none except the completely naive are going to take your remarks seriously.
It's past time that the free world takes extremely strong action against this oligarchy of crooks and killers. ALL purchases and investments in western countries should be investigated to be certain of the provenance of the monies used in obtaining properties and companies so that dirty money is excluded to the maximum.
Russia is a major military power supported by a rooting, unproductive economy that produces nothing of interest to the world except gas/oil and weapons. Hit them again and again where they are most vulnerable, in their wealthy crook's money belts. Putin and the Russian Mafia can be defeated by not allowing them to play money games in the west.
22
Excellent point. Britain could do itself a great favour by stopping the flow of dirty money flooding into London for laundering by City banks and investment houses on behalf of Russia's criminal oligarchic class domiciled in the UK..
Hitherto all governments have been willing to turn a blind eye to this important source of revenue for the Exchequer.
Supping with the devil has its price as the Brits are now learning.
6
Talk about stating the obvious!
The question is what will Britain (and the USA and the Euros) DO about this?
How about freezing all the Russian assets in UK, US, and European banks, for starters? And then the assets of all the Russian oligarchs who're in cahoots with Putin and his gang? And anything vaguely tied to Putin himself of course!
Extreme? Not really given the provocation of running hit-squads inside other sovereign nations! And hacking the US power-grid and elections systems!
Make no mistake:
Putin and Russia under him are ALWAYS probing for weaknesses and weak responses. Cf. Crimea, Ukraine, military personnel operating all over Crimea, Ukraine, and elsewhere with their national insignia conveniently removed, shooting down a passenger airplane, etc, etc...
8
We can pretty much figure out what Russia is doing here. Putin wants the many people who know about the host of illegal and nefarious activities to fear what can happen to them if they reveal any number of things that add up to an assault on our democracy and national stability.
In many ways, Russia is like North Korea, a crumbling corrupt autocracy, just much bigger and more dangerous. A president like Trump suits their needs just fine.
5
Whether or not this administration will admit it, Russia has begun a war against the West, and, at least until now, the West has not responded. Crimea, Ukraine, Syria, election meddling, cyber warfare, and murder - with no meaningful response.
5
Seems like other way around, the West is conducting war against Russia: Chechnya, Serbia, Georgia, Ukraine, Syria
The UK - acting as servile lapdogs to the US Right-Wing Militarists and Elites, Hillaryites and DNC collusionists - have joined the Blame Putin meme that has been thrown in our faces ever since Hillary lost the election. All part of the attempt to oust Trump for his inherent stupidity, and Putin as a twofer. But MI5 and 6, with the tools at hand to actually discover who dunnit, haven't. And speculation rules the roost. "Likely" is as close as they are willing to go. The UK has CCTV's on every street corner and building, and Salisbury, backyard to Porton Down, their bio-warfare lab extraordinaire, is no different. So anyone who lingered over the park bench that day could be identified and tracked down. If need be, ask the NSA. If the ex-spy had been such a high person of interest of the Russian government, they wouldn't have waited until the Blame-Putin meme was running in high gear. Skripal would have been deep 6'd years ago, not now. Skripal was living in Salisbury - in the open - repeat. In the open. Not hiding away.
However, as a means to "electrify" the populace and rev up the media into hysterical absurdity, getting some UK player, or even some ex-Russian local to do the job would make more sense. Or Mossad. Or some thug willing to risk life and limb with a vial of bio-hazard material in exchange for a few thousand quid payment. But Putin "personally" directing the job? I don't think so. It's just too convenient and implausable at the same time. But whadda I know.
3
Manafort, Page, Gates, Papadopoulos, Flynn and Van der Zwaan should avoid any gifts sent their way.
2
Or maybe the poisoning was carried out by the same 300 lb hacker guy sitting on the side of his bed in the basement of his parents home that Trump knows about.
8
Thank you -- exactly what I was thinking.
4
how funny, I was about to comment about the same guy in basement. trump of course would also say that, it could have been Russia , but it could have been some other country. facts don't matter to him.
4
I would prefer to hear confirmation from a source other than Boris Johnson.
Regardless what appears to be a state-sponsored terrorist attack on an Russian ex-patriot in England, the lack of anyone in the GOP vigorously discussing sanctions against the Russian state, all banks, business, and the confiscation of all Russian assets in the US is mindboggling. The GOP controls every branch of the federal government. It sits silently despite acknowledgment that the power grid is at risk and elections were influenced.
Where is the GOP action to preserve national security beyond blocking corporate takeovers and tariffs on metals?
9
Lets not let scientific facts get in the way of garbage journalism. Dr Robin Black, Head of the Detection Laboratory at the UK’s only chemical weapons facility at Porton Down, a former colleague of Dr David Kelly, published in an extremely prestigious scientific journal that the evidence for the existence of Novichoks was scant and their composition unknown.
https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2018/03/the-novichok-story-is-in...
4
The person you want making this case is not a documented liar like Boris £350m-a-week Johnson
5
Just wondering what Trump's reaction will be once Putin starts having people in the US killed.
11
It's surely already happened. We just never hear about these alleged accidents or suicides. People go missing too. Disappear forever. Without a trace.
1
Maybe Puti chose this overt crime that can only be connected to Russian intelligence agencies to communicate to his poodle in our Oval Office? Trumpy better start minding better or else.
3
Mr. Trump are you listening? Wake up and read the tv tea leaves you are in very deep water
2
Putin is "likely" a murderer and the sun is likely hot.
10
FIFA should cancel the World Cup which is scheduled to happen in Russia. If FIFA doens't cancel, then NATO countries should withdraw their national teams' participation.
51
Kick 'em where it really counts. In a soccer ball? That'll teach 'em!
1
Putin keeps evading blame in this case and many others. The troops in Crimea and Western Ukraine have no Russian emblems on their uniforms and equipment, so they could be anybody. There are millions of Russians. Any one might have that nerve agent. It is not clear who bombed those Syrian civilians, could have been some 200 Kilo guy in his parents' basement in NJ. Maybe Russians messed with your elections, but not the Russian government. Who knows?
Want military options, Donald? If those troops in Ukraine don't identify as Russian, then they may be ISIS or spies, and only permission of the Ukrainian government is required to attack them. Nerve agents used in England? Why not Novogorod? What if that 200 Kilo guy were in St. Petersburg? If, as Putin pretends, these are the work of non-state actors, then they should enjoy no protection from Russia, eg. open season on terrorists.
I do not favor such measures, but neither do I approve of Putin's, nor believe that Crimea is 'the last of his territorial demands'.
2
Send the Russian money home where it belongs. Stop letting it corrupt the West, from Trump Towers to Miami, the Offshore sinkholes, and Regent Square. Then, let Putin howl from the depths of Siberia. He is incredibly vulnerable and the Russian elite that supports him know it well.
13
"Overwhelmingly Likely" not precise enough. Seem to remember another War under same premise and was WRONG..........
4
It’s not the job of the accused to prove a government criminal accusation against him, whether it’s our President Trump or Russian Federation President Putin. Who is telling the truth here, British P.M. Theresa May or Pres. Putin? Let the U.N. commission investigating banned chemical weapons (a deadly nerve agent) used against the Skripals fund a United Nations special counsel task force to investigate the attack.
Accusations are not enough. The United States needs convincing proof, like our establishing the source of the 9/11 attack as Osama Bin Laden. Our charge had real evidence behind it linking Bin Laden to the 9/11 terrorist act. It was not the false CIA proof to the U.N. of Saddam Hussein’s “weapons of mass destruction.”
The NATO “Chicken Littles” like Boris Johnson are a predictable anti-Russian, anti-Putin chorus. We’ve heard false claims from them before now. Enough with the politically inspired outrage. Theresa May’s government ought to fall if it cannot publicly prove that the Russian government is liable.
2
Putin is testing to see how much he can get away with. Trump election emboldened him. UK is correct to slap back hard. Ray Sipe
5
Without incontrovertible proof Mr Johnson should carefully weigh his words, Russia is a large powerful country that will not accept international criticism and rebuke lightly.
3
"Russia is a large powerful country that will not accept international criticism and rebuke lightly."....You can't buy Polonium or Novichok at your local hardware. Why use these exotic and difficult to obtain poisons when something purchased locally would do the job? Because Putin wants to send the West a message. Things like this will keep happening until Putin gets punched in the nose.
13
It is your explanations but they could be not true. We know that Novichok was manufactured in Uzbekistan. How about we start there. Who in Uzbekistan had access to the plant? I've heard it was Americans beside obviously Uzbeks. And polonium is produced in many countries around the World
The GOP let Moscow poison American democracy.
48
This has what to do with murders committed by the Putin in England?
1
Would like to know how many were targeted and murdered in the USA?
5
Murder, killing, it's all so relative as to be pointless. If a Pakistani judge had ruled our going into Pakistan and killing Osama Bin Laden as a murder, we'd laugh our heads off. So what what Scotland Yard thinks. Goldfish living in a fishbowl have probably a broader take on the world overall than the people walking on it.
How many years in college did it take to learn so a feeble argument?I
8
Mortarmann, I was just telling you what my goldfish told me to write. He has a PhD from Seaworld, but doesn’t like to brag about it.
While I am no fan of Putin, Boris Johnson saying anything about anything is going to lead me to believe the opposite. Like Trump, a liar and a fraud, his words are worth less than nothing. Both men are, wittingly or unwittingly, Putin’s biggest allies in spreading chaos and distrust in the west.
9
Russia annexed Crimea and just got a slap on the wrist. The cyber-attacked our election. Today we learned thay cyber-attacked our power grid. If they can get away with these, do you think they are worried about a murder in England? They are taking over whole countries! It's time the world teams up and attacks back. That is the only thing that will work against Putin. Otherwise, expect more of the same.
34
Jee, Americans and British occupied Iraq and didn't even get the slap in the wrist. Really, if the World is serious about laws, they should punish everybody who broke the law, not just Russia. Maybe, in this case the World will have more credibility.
Get real. All Vlad needs to do is say, offhandedly, "It would be very useful if we could send a message to our "friends" in the West that we can act with impunity." The criminal mob minions get the message and do the rest. Completely deniable. Doing something meaningful in return will certainly be unpleasant, but there will be escalation by Russia if there is no significant response. If they can kill off former Russians who turned, why not those partners of a certain family business who have now failed to provide Russia the political payoff they expected? Russia expects it can do anything it pleases with no serious consequences. Whattya gonna do? Start a nuclear war? They'll kill our electric grid and turn off our water if we take a shot at them. We're too busy building a wall to prevent it.
3
Is this enough fro Trump to condemn Putin or does he view it as "fake news?"
6
“Overwhelmingly likely”? No kidding, Sherlock. It’s time to take off the kid gloves when dealing with Russian hit men and death squads because that’s all they are. As our ally in history, language and comrades in arms in World War II, America must show unwavering support for Britain and all of our allied friends.
The Russian monster of today is no less sinister than the Nazi scourge that plagued world peace in the thirties and forties. If Russian sensibilities are shocked and outraged, then so be it. World dominance is their ultimate goal and if they can hobble the mighty US, they can hobble any country they please. If former spies for the Kremlin are not safe from Putin’s long reach, no citizen on this planet is safe or secure from the wrath of Red Square.
Expelling British diplomats from Russia would only be an admission of guilt of Russia’s actions. Murder and cyber espionage are in store for any country that harbors agents who fell out of favor with Putin. Having a safe haven in America is no protection from Putin’s wrath because he knows that the US president will only look the other way at Russian outrages and issue blanket pardons for murder, just to stay in Putin's good graces.
5
What do you mean? According to your logic, expelling of Russian diplomats is a British admission of the guilt
Thank you Britain!
2
And what does Mr. President have to say?....crickets
8
What's this?!?
Politicians unafraid to lay blame at Russian feet?
Such a travesty wouldn't happen in the US...
18
So?
Putin has:
Murdered his opponents at home and abroad.
Shot down a civilian airline over Ukraine (think Qaddafi and Lockerbie).
Empowered Syria to use chemical weapons and carry out a scorched earth policy against civilian women and children.
The punishments so far?
1) Russian athletes couldn't fly their flag in South Korea.
2) Russia will host the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
3) Russia still mostly has the support of Donald Trump as Putin plans to strangle our European allies.
58
Didn't the Brits first blame, then forgive Qaddafi for Lockerbie ( to get a business transaction)? Maybe they are looking for a deal on Russian oil?
1
So you have a nerve agent that can be traced to Russian labs and you think that Putin might be behind it.
Well if he isn't then I wouldn't want to be the guy that went behind Putin's back because Putin will surly make you the next target so you can't talk about it.
However if he say's he didn't do it, you know that Trump will say he's right.
2
the brits are beginning to look a little foolish in their accusations unless they can provide some kind of proof well beyond exactly nothing so far.
ok we'll assume these people were poisoned with a sophisticated nerve agent associated with russia but to accuse a state and/or head of state of murder in a public forum is reckless.
so however tempting it may be to fire up the rhetoric take this issue out of a political context and put it in a legal one.
5
From the general tenor and stilted manner of your posting I guess you may well be Russian.
You contend that the Brits have provided "nothing" in the way of proof implicating the Russians in the attempted murder of Mr. Skripal and his daughter.
I can only assume that you obtain your information exclusively from Russia news sources because I've been able to discover plenty of details concerning the nature and production of the agent used, its exclusive and documented connection to Soviet and then Russian military research labs in all leading German, British and US print and online media outlets, including the NYT.
What the inteligence services haven't released is the manner in which this agent was delivered, and exactly when and by whom, probably because this is an on-going investigation.
And whatever evidence has been uncovered so far was sufficient to convince the leaders of France, Germany and even Trump to sign a joint statement condemning Russian involvement.
21
What details did you find? Did you find the detail that said the agent was produced in Uzbekistan which was a same country as Russia in 80a but is a different country is now. And just because the Germany, US and France went along doesn't mean that the accusations are true. After all GB went along with the US on Iraqi WMD, and it turned out to be completely false.
The bigger question is what is Putin thinking ? Can he really disregard further sanctions ?
Obviously- the answer is YES.
Putin is sending a terrifying message to anyone who might leak or expose his infamy. Poisoning as political leverage.
He is defiant of international norms; this makes him appear strong & invulnerable.
He is succeeding in generating chaos in western democracies and stoking neofascist nativisim.
He is winning the long term propaganda war that suits an economically weak nation. Russia's ability to hack utilities, secrets, compro-intel on leaders gives him more than a nuclear arsenal...it is a cheap tactic for utter disruption.
David & Goliath goes dark.
31
Why do Americans seem to think that foreign leaders, especially the villains du jour, are insanely evil? Do you really think the Russians want to be international pariahs? That Putin doesn't have to take into account the counsel and agendas of high level government officials -- not to mention the Russian oligarchs? That Russia doesn't need the good faith of its EU trading partners? The version of motive you put forth here is something a child weaned on comic-book superheroes and super-evildoers might come up with... I hope it's not representative of most Americans, or we're in more trouble than we know.
2
Russia is many things. By annexing Crimea Russia literally crossed a bridge that the West finds intolerable after 2014 Kiev coup d'etat. Russia became a thorn in the side of the US in Syria by supporting the Syrian government of Assad. Naturally the US has serious doubts about Russia and their hidden agenda especially their connection with IRAN a declared enemy of Israel. Palestine no longer rated US priority. In Europe there is no move towards Russia the US need worry about. The current anti-Russian mood in Britain at fever pitch after the SALISBURY chemical attack incident. Let me be honest I do not subscribe to the Russian big bad bear theory. Our fragile planet will not stand a full-scale nuclear war with Russia and China joining hands against the West. We need to step back from the brink before its too late. This message will probably self-destruct as soon as read by the NYT editor?
NATO countries should investigate the money trail of all properties purchased through shell companies, and if the trail leads to Russia, confiscate the property.
28
That is not a bad thing to do - only they should not really restrict themselves to Russia. Simply put, if a property has been purchased through a shell company with money without clear provenance, then confiscate it. If you find evidence of corruption, then why would you care if it is related to Russia or not.
However we all understand that this kind of suggestion will not be acted upon. It is much easier to brand everything suspicious as "Russian" and then proceed to break laws and conventions whenever it suits you.
2
Might start with money trails to shell companies starting with the U.S.
1
There’s no reason to mince words. Assuming the British findings are correct, it’s “overwhelmingly likely” that Putin is an international terrorist with chemical agents in his arsenal.
44
Here is the problem. By now, everyone who reads US/UK news and watches UK/US TV is so overwhelmed by the words "Russia" and "Putin" being thrown at everything wrong that happens in the world, that people do not even stop to ask the simplest questions. "Assuming the British findings are correct"? Who will tell you if they are or aren't? Same British experts and media which will publish an article a week later claiming that everything was confirmed?
I wonder - when a few years later, when some investigative journalists will finally get to the bottom of all this hysteria (as they did with Iraq war and many otehr things), will anyone at least apologize like Tony Blair did? And will anyone learn any lessons? It doesn't seem like current politicians had done that. And so it happens again and again.
By the way, were there any serious publications investigating the Skripal story without any preconceived bias? I hope some journalists are working on that right now. Maybe then we will indeed find out what's going on. And if it really were Russia, then surely they entire world will breathe easily - the usual suspects will have been proved to be the bad guys, everything is once again right with the world. And if not... well, it will likely be quickly swept under the carpet.
5
@JT: It is very far from just the US/UK press. It is, in fact, most of the German, French, Spanish, Canadian and Italian media that also suspect Putin. I read all these newspaper websites daily. Actually, some Americans were students of foreign language, and many know that your emphasis on a US-UK media conspiracy against Russia is bogus. It is also typical Russian disinformation.
2
"... which was committed by 'a generally dangerous method'" - this translation from Russian is too direct. It would be better translated as "committed by a method that is dangerous for general public" or something like that.
1
I'm eager to see if President Trump makes a a strong statement in support of Britain and against Russia in response to this egregious act. In view of his stunning silence in the face of Russia's attacks on our democracy and (as recently revealed) our power grid, I'm expecting nothing. His silence in the face of such developments is truly frightening for what it reveals about Russia's increasingly obvious hold on him.
19
Will trump be next?
1
No one in the UK has come forward with specific evidence of who poisoned Mr. Skirpal and his daughter. How were they poisoned? All we know is that the victims were found unconscious on a public bench. Given the widespread use of video surveillance there surely should be some evidence to demonstrate how the Skirpals were poisoned and by whom. The U.K. has used this incident to make highly inflammatory statements regarding Russian culpability; it should produce specific evidence to support the allegations.
8
Try reading beyond the end of your nose. This is being reported in UK newspapers. The nerve agent is believed by British security services to have been planted in Yulia Skirpal's luggage while in her Moscow apartment early in march just prior to her departing to visit her father. Upon her arrival at her father's home and use of her luggage, the Novichok began to be dispersed, affecting those in closest proximity first and to the greatest degree. The impact is not instant, and it is to some extent cumulative. Much as with the trail of polonium from the murder of Litvinenko, Russian agents have left a trail of evidence which decays with time and in so doing provides a timeline. There have been so many assassinations in the UK by Russian and prior to that USSR agents that the patterns they employ are extremely familiar. Since the advent of Putin it is only the posns themselves that have become novel. Yes, there is plenty of evidence, and yes, it is fairly public in the country where the victims were harmed. In the US, with a pro-Russian fellow in the White House and sycophantic party members in Congress, the news tends not to be promulgated so much. Now....where in Russia are you located?
18
@ Ralph
" ... The nerve agent is believed by British security services to have been planted in Yulia Skirpal's luggage while in her Moscow apartment"..
Planted by who? Until we know, assigning blame is premature. And, How do we know that the poison was applied in Moscow?
We need every responsible government official to acknowledge the multiple threats to the West posed by Putin and deal with them in a coordinated way. The GOP better get on board. As a former Republican, I never thought I'd see the day when Republican Congressmen would cover for a Russian government led by a former KGB officer, as the House Intelligence Committee majority and chair have just done.
53
This unconfirmed Russian action in the U.K. should be seen as a warning to the US. With an investigation that is in full throttle and focusing on Russia’s proven interference in our electoral process, not to mention evidence of money laundering, corruption and the turning of state’s evidence of key actors in the Mueller investigations, I am surprised that several “witnesses” are not under federal protection. The Russians have a lot to lose and they have shown us that they do resort to deadly retaliation. We should not ignore what has happened in the U.K.
16
As others have said, this is an attack by an enemy on a NATO ally and all friends of the UK, beginning with the US, must make it clear that we are in support of them. Any failure or equivocation, no matter how slight, will have dire consequences of United States security. And, just today. we learned that Russia is in control of our power grids. I predict that they will turn off the juice on November 6th, in order to ruin our midterm Election Day.
66
It is -- to say mildly -- an exaggeration to claim that "we learned that Russia is in control of our power grid". A more exact statement would be "we were told (once again, without presenting any convincing evidence) that some hackers have likely penetrated some computers related to the power grid management". Our government is so used by now to replacing words "hackers", "enemy" and "someone" with "Russia" and "Putin", that it seems like they are all using the same (and a very special, at that) dictionary.
2