A truly democratic government serves as the foundation for a successful state in which individuals can exchange ideas and progress towards a brighter future. However, as exemplified in this article, Russia’s deployment of assassins highlights a threat to global democracy. After these two assassins were uncovered in England, chilling ties to the Soviet Union can be seen. The actions of Russian agents increase the divide between Russia and the West, reigniting cold war conflicts. First and foremost, the military intelligence program under President Putin, known as G.R.U., is similar to the K.G.B, which carried out ominous deeds for Joseph Stalin before being abolished. Instead of KGB officers using open harassment and beatings as methods of coercion, G.R.U agents mask their methods of destruction; In this case, they packaged nerve agents capable of grievous damage into perfume bottles. Thankfully, Mr. Skripal and his family survived the attack. The use of nerve agents by Russian spies is an absolute violation of treaties preventing the use of chemical weapons. Furthermore, the issue of Russian interference is especially pertinent today as the Presidency of Donald Trump remains shrouded in Russian controversy. As Americans, we must not overlook the corruption present within the Russian government, be steadfast in opposition to Russian surveillance practices, and fight to preserve the democratic value that has made America strong for over five centuries.
6
These are just scurrilous, unproven accusations against some maybe Russian military men. Nothing been solved just mere accusations with some photographs of two guys walking doing nothing. But the US attacked Iraq in full global view using very obvious made up WMD accusations destroying a stable Iraq enabling the full fiasco what is the Middle East today.
2
The GRU comes off as amateurish in its methods and agents: an easily traced nerve agent specific to Russia, two easily identifiable figures from central casting, apparently no attempt to delink the agents from the weapon (traces found in their hotel room) and the casually tossed away still deadly weapon (the vial). Discarding the conspiracy theories of the propeller cap crowd that it is a UK intelligence hoax, one is left to deduce the attack was either meant to be uncovered and in doing so send a message or we can assume they will learn from this experience and alter their methods and personnel. It's also apparent that the UK investigators are still playing their cards close to their chest(s), much is not being revealed.
2
If British intelligence knew these GRU officers had 'travelled extensively in the past under these aliases' why on earth did it allow then into the UK?
Other concerns:
1. Why did the officers make their identity so obvious by taking no measures at all to disguise themselves or conceal their identity? Even our local burglars take the precaution of wearing a hoody.
2. How come residue of novichok was found in their hotel room? We are told this is a deadly 'military grade' chemical weapon yet for no apparent reason the agents exposed themselves to it in their hotel room.
3. Why did the agents travel on Russian passports and come out of Moscow. If I were planning such an operation, wouldn't I travel to the scene from a third country under a fake foreign passport under an alias that I had never used previously? And would I use a Russian name?
4. Why would the agents dispose of the attempted murder weapon (the perfume bottle containing novichok) so carelessly. Why not just bury it or throw in in a river or travel to nearby Brighton and drop it off the pier?
4. The GPU developed out of the KGB and one would expect it to be a highly professional intelligence organisation. Do the characteristics of these events indicate that the perpetrators carried out their operation in way consistent with being an officer in such an organisation.
3
Russian agents killed UK citizens on British soil, and we read in today's anonymous letter that Trump was mad that folks were making him expel Russian "diplomats" (a.k.a. known spies) from America. Good god, what kind of a world are we living in?!
9
West crusade gets more and more comical. In fact this whole comedy script could be the most funny and comical film ever made. If the West really thinks any normal person would believe this comedy sketch, then they seriously need a psychological evaluation themselves. I haven't laughed so much in ages it's not just ridiculous it's just plain nonsensical gibberish.
1
Does really England expect that this dumb story will be believed? It has more holes than a strainer. Why they granted visas to two agents of the GRU? If they were traveling together to England it was not for tourism. Being two agents of the GRU, nobody was keeping and eye on tem. The investigación was clearly biased from the beginning. Why did they excluded everybody that was not Russian as a potential suspect? The guy that Stalin sent to kill Trostky was not Russian, he was mexican. Maybe this is because they just needed two Russians and there are so many of them in England that at the end they will find two that will look suspicious. This story seems to be a mediocre spy novel.
3
What will Mr. Trump do about this? Nothing? Maybe send another worthless tweet praising Putin. That's our world leader Donald Trump.
7
Russians are the foreign enemy, #45. You have colluded with Putin, to break with our allies, and provide discord domestically. Treason, in my opinion.
2
Imagine the potential catastrophic loss of life if that counterfeit perfume bottle had broken in transit to, or within England, releasing its deadly contents on an innocent populace. Putin's complete disregard for international law, norms, and values must be swiftly dealt with by enacting more punishing sanctions, including the deportation of as many Kremlin-linked oligarchs as possible, in England, the U.S., and in Europe. Retribution on a grand scale is the only measure that might work against this world outlaw and his criminal regime.
7
The UK is hardly holding Russia accountable. They have charged two men under aliases, who were paid assassins and will never be caught. Justice also requires that their co-conspirators, those who paid and ordered the assassination, be held accountable as well, but the UK is apparently not willing to go there. The UK evidently fears conflict with Russia. I predict: no one will go to jail, no one will be held accountable, and Russia will continue to act with impunity.
3
This is the country we're supposed to be pals with. It truly boggles the mind. If only George Orwell were here--he knew it!
Isn't it nice when a head of state praises their law enforcement agencies for uncovering Russian state run subversive plots.
12
@peejay - there's no way you can arrive in the UK through an airport or port, ferry, Chunnel, without getting caught on CCTV many times. Perhaps if you arrived by submarine.
Then, you can't travel on public transport or walk around much in the daytime without also having your image taken. You could try to get around only at night, but you'd have to have a car gotten for you by someone else, since there's no public transport, and that would leave a trail. You're also more likely to get noticed at night.
The big break came from narrowing it down Immediately to Russia and checking all arrivals/departures from/to Russia, then xrefing to images from Salisbury, looking for matches, and finding them.
The operatives could have made it much more difficult if they had arrived from the EU, but eventually an image match would have still been made. Check out how they tracked down the team which stole a truckload of cash a few years ago.
The fact that they didn't come in from the EU, and traveled directly from/to Moscow, simply shows how arrogant GRU is. With good reason.
3
This is a red alert! Our POTUS has given more than a hint that he is *directly conspiring* with the murdering fascist dictator of Russia. And Trump absolutely refuses to condemn Putin, no matter how many assassinations and hacking attacks point to Russia.
So thank you Sophia Kishkovsky, Iliana Magra, and NYT for providing this forthright example of excellent journalism! I'll bet my next paycheck this story won't be reported anywhere on Fox News.
It is imperative for Americans to be conscious of what's happening abroad while The Trump Show carries on here in the states.
8
Time for NATO to invoke article 5.
1
I'm sure trump would say that they are "good men" who are being treated very unfairly by Teresa May, the corrupt British investigators, and the fake London news --
And also that he is considering pardoning them both!
He might even ask how to say "witch hunt" in russian?
7
Putin's counter-punch to the critics of his regime.
This is a telling story. Unlike many of the allegations of Russian hacking of our election, there appears to be concrete evidence of a very serious crime here.
I hope, but don't expect, that the perpetrators, and their bosses, are brought to justice.
5
@Alex
same level of evidence as WoD in Iraq. One with half-brain can see that this is a fake.
How long before they attack US citizens in our own country? Micro wave attacks on our embassy staff and Trump says nothing. At least our astronauts are safe in Russian hands.
2
@hb are you a real person? We have millions of gang members from the South and you worry about a phantom menace from the East. You are either 5 years old or a bot.
I can believe everything in this story except characterizing "the downing of a civilian airliner in Ukrainian airspace" as a Russian "operation". By the NYT's own reporting, which included the intercepted transcripts of radio communications between the shooters and the Russian military weapon suppliers, these out of control "rebels" first thought that they had downed a military jet. Yes, supplying the weapons occurred, but the planned attack on foreign civilians most certainly did not. By attempting to make the already sinister even more so, falsely, you hurt your own usually fine reporting.
3
Of course these Russian spies use a chemical that will be traced right back to Russia and do their dirty deed right before the Russian election and a couple weeks before Russia World Soccer games. Seriously?
6
How naive people should be to believe anything UK government has to say in this case. If GRU needed that clown dead, he would be gone in a blink of an eye without any traces. Direct flight? Russian passports? Camera recordings? I can't stop laughing. Russia needs to continue to be THE enemy so the elite can have an excuse to pocket taxpayers money. Yes, I am american and yes Russia and USA should be friends by all means.
8
I doubt you.
2
@Chris Please explain the "clown" assertion. Whose side are you on? I suppose, if you ideas were developed a little more, you would also say that it is also fine for the Kremlin to kill members of an opposition press and the interest of Being "friends"..
It is thinking such as yours that is in opposition to our Constitution and our Bill of Rights.
4
Since you are obviously an expert on the subject, could you please let Interpol know who is guilty of this awful crime? Everybody will applaud you!
2
I suspect these guys no longer exist.
Does Russia leave their assassins on the loose? I somehow doubt it.
2
G.R.U as in the villain Gru from Despicable Me ? You know there are minions out there as well!
More seriously, the UK police did nice work, but it took far too long. Based upon what I read, the spy gets off the commercial plan, takes public transportation, assassinates his target and then takes the plane back. If it's that easy, then the UK as serious problems.
Also the part about two swabs at the hotel does not make any sense. That is it's not credible. If the stuff was so dangerous, then both men could have been easily infected as well as other people whom they came in contact with such as the hotel cleaning lady. There is something missing here in the story.
1
Putin should be charged and arrest warrants issued for him. All trade with Russia should be cut off 100%
4
I know how their Russian President will react, but I don't know about ours.
3
Russians are nekulturny. Until they change their ways, they should be banned from all civilized gatherings.
4
Times: "... the progress of the two men from an Aeroflot flight to the scene of the crime, and from there back to Moscow."
Times: "... passport data for Russians who left the country shortly after the poisoning ..."
(quotes from related article)
They traveled together on Russian passports?! And from the stills from the surveillance videos, they seem to have always been together in the UK.
Don't the Russians know how to conduct covert operations anymore?
Oh well, May needs a propaganda fix because of her poor Brexit management. None of these accusations are very believable nor can we see any evidence of course, so it’s all basically hearsay.
1
The amount of what seem to be Russian trolls on this comment board is itself worthy of investigation.
19
Done some research. It seems the two Russian GRU assassins dropped the fake bottle of Novichok into a litter bin, recycling bin or charity bin located at the time on the South East corner of the Guildhall, right in the heart of Salisbury, with Union Jacks and the flag of St George fluttering on flag poles — and not in Catherine Street as erroneously reported in the UK media, eg by Murdoch's The Sun newspaper.
This was an attack by a hostile foreign power on England. Ordered by Putin. Aided and abetted by his grinning puppet in the White House.
'SE corner of the Guildhall, Salisbury
The Guildhall, dating from 1795 is owned by Salisbury City Council. It is the fourth building of its type to be constructed on the Guildhall Square. The first Guildhall, built in the Middle Ages, was known as The Bishop's Guildhall.
In this corner are metal posts on which to chain bicycles, a telephone box, recycling bins, a litter bin,
a yellow box for grit and a signpost with several arms. Fish Street is on the left.'
https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3664181
2
And in four months none of these boxes was emptied? I guess British are not keen on recycling, charity and do not generate much litter, if bottle could stay there for 4 month before being found by trash divers.
2
The Unglamorous Work of Looking for an Assassin
Front page and headline error on the accompanying story: there were no arrests made. See below, from the front page blurb. NYT please correct. Stories themselves appear to be accurate, error only as noted.
Britain is one of the most heavily surveilled nations on earth, with an estimated one surveillance camera per 11 citizens.
A team of skilled experts called “super-recognizers” combed through that trove of CCTV footage, leading to two arrests in the poisoning of a former Russian spy.
38m ago
2
As @Flaminia states, Russia has what most nations could only dream of having yet Putin can only see the green grass growing in other peoples lawns & pastures.
One can only begin to wonder what is in & under all that soil that makes up Russia. Yes, they could easily create an oasis of habitability for all Russians yet Putin only seems interested in taking that which others own and are actively using.
Then we have to face that this is the partner of that rot that is occupying the White House.
What an evil brew this is that we have to drink.
3
Any ridiculous spectical to keep your eyes from seeing the collapse of the Western Empire . Seventeen years of war stealing trillions of dollars from taxpayers to give to the elite that start the wars then profit from them.
Spooks and spies and Russia oh my!
2
Is it not just possible that Putin used these two inept operatives and a well known Russian toxin to seed terror in his enemies abroad. Quiet anonymous assassination is worrying but when you know for certain someone is out there to get you and they don't care for the consequences then is a pure terrorist ploy.
The trouble is in the UK we have become so used to so called terrorists that the whole point has become mute and rather ridiculous.
2
When Russia sends its people, they’re not sending their best.
Some, I assume, are good people.
2
Vladimir, dear boy, your so busted(!)
...and WHY he really doesn't care(.)
1) The penalty for betraying Russia/Putin is death, and it doesn't matter where you run. Is that clear enough to everyone?
2) Yes, there will be diplomatic consequences, but if anyone thinks sanctions are working then they should get a ticket to Syria or North Korea. Europe/EU is tied to the Russian energy sector and there is no easy solution to that.
3) No matter what he does, Putin 'knows' he has an explicit partner in the White House who will not...cannot?) publcly condemn him for anything, no matter what US policy happens to be at the moment. Trump would rather demonize football players and Nike.
So Putin will continue to do anything and everything he can to prove Russia is not simply a third-rate geopolitical power, because he hangs out with a tough crowd and right now they are not getting results.
3
Quite a whoddunit story.
Unfortunately, these killings will continue until Britain comes to it's senses in expelling all the dirty and stolen money and these Russians from crooked Russians that it has been so anxious to out it's hand on. Read British newspapers to understand how much glamor if these Russians - Brits live to read about and crave for.
Russia will know Britain means businesc when the crooked bankers of so called City are either put on notice or throw a couple in jail.
And as one wag out ur, if these agents had come with suitcases full of ill gotten wealth - why Britain would have said who cares about these deaths??
Britain has sold its soul for this money and is paying the price.
4
@Neil: There is no Britain. Just London bankers, and the rest of the nation dirt-poor.
2
Wow Neil, this isn't RT News.
2
It's just too bad they won't get imprisoned, since they are back in Russia with no chance of being extradited.
5
If those 2 hit men are Russian Military Intelligence officers,then Russia will confirm the image it had of Ridicule when the US Spy rink was caught and all its spies among whom Anna Chapman identified and arrested
Targeting an old man and his young daughter hiding in plain sight and failing their easy mission (Thank God) will look really bad on Russia's Intelligence services to say the least.
It appears then that V.Putin can rather count on Russian hackers and Russian trolls than on its Russian Military Intelligence.
On the other hand ,the British authorities have been naive and have not protected Russian ex spies properly and have not treated them well financially. Hopefully this should change.
3
Watch where you're putting your fingers, Mr. Manafort.
4
It is an accusation, not a "charge" when there is no prospect of ever making an arrest or prosecuting the matter.
The difference is that evidence will never be produced nor tested nor subjected to cross exam. They could say anything.
They're spies. They do stuff like that, ours as much as theirs.
8
Not exactly. I’m fairly certain I’ve never heard of or read in any literature of a current CIA officer assassinating a former CIA officer. Am I wrong?
In turn, these two will probably be killed in Russia. They failed their mission. Their faces are all over international media. And, they ended up killing an innocent bystander. They look a lot more sloppy and corrupt than your average Intelligence officer attack. They’re now of no use in the field.
None of this looks good for Russia.
1
@Mark Thomason
And to make accusations against Russia is exactly the point of the whole exercise. Solving and prosecuting is hardly the objective here. Case in point - Britain declining to provide fingerprints and passport information of the suspects to the Russians. Which they should have from the suspects British visas used to presumably travel from Russia to England.
http://tass.com/politics/1020130
1
Your view then is that the British investigators just made this all up? And that even if it is true, it’s ok and doesn’t matter? They are killing people, including a British citizen. That’s not ok.
1
I'm relieved U.K is holding Russia accountable on this. Russian has gotten away with so much in recent years.
32
Ironically, it would seem that the only immigrants that should be banned from entering the UK and possibly the rest of Europe and the US, are Russians.
67
@Issy
There is far too much russian money invested in London for the UK to do this, especially since the Brexit negociations are going so bad.
2
No doubt British authorities are justifiably proud they have cracked this case and want to let the world now.
Yet one wishes the British government had not released the IDs of the alleged assassins and instead publicly maintained a posture of ignorance and failing to solve the case.
That way their intelligence agencies and covert teams could have quietly undertaken a search and rendition operation and brought these fugitives back to the UK to face justice.
Such an operation might have required patience and taken years, but it could have been done if the lid was kept tight.
Now, these guys will never be found and captured and are safe in Russia.
21
@Philoscribe - With all due respect, I disagree, heartily. These thugs mugs need to be flashed, and often, across the international highways, biways and air-ways which I suspect will eventually lead to either their capture, or better, their demise. What's more, Putin and his crony mob hit men can no longer deny the Russian link to this hideous crime of espionage with these photo's. Again, I can't thank the Brits enough for their dedicated hard work in solving this crime.
48
@RLC:These are just scurrilous, unproven accusations against some maybe Russian military men. Nothing been solved just mere accusations with some photographs of two guys walking doing nothing. What's solved?? and good luck in attacking Russian nationals because they surely can do it back.
‘That way their intelligence agencies and covert teams could have quietly undertaken a search and rendition operation and brought these fugitives back to the UK to face justice.’
Sorry, but Britain does not do ‘rendition’ – i.e kidnap and torture. That does not equate with ‘justice’.
2
Impressive and painstaking work by British investigators.
Mr. Putin no doubt maintains that he has a right worldwide to destroy “traitors”.
It’s time to charge this former KGB thug directly. We’ve certainly got his picture and identity.
28
Impressive? I am not sure, unless you already have a footing scheme in the mind. You just look for want to look: Russian guy who was around of Salisbury. and then fit him on your narrative. By the way, how did they connect the guys to the bottle which they demonstrated? Where did they find the bottle? In the guy's room?
Maybe the FBI should re-open the case of Mikhail Lesin, a former Russia Today founder and former "Friend of Putin". He had multiple traumatic injuries to his head and torso while supposeedly drinking to excess in a Washington DC hotel room. Quite curious...
42
@Len J
only if you pay out of your pocket for this investigation.
"The police released pictures of the counterfeit bottle for a perfume, Nina Ricci’s Premier Jour, ..."
The bottle doesn't look like any Nina Ricci bottle that can be found in Google images, so what is it?
'Mrs. May said, “the manner in which the bottle was modified ...'
What does May mean by "modified"? The photo shows a long nozzle. Is that the modification?
1
OMG relevance???
14
@ OBJ - You're not making much sense.
Your own words: "The bottle doesn't look like any Nina Ricci bottle that can be found in Google images, so what is it?"
What is it? It's a device meant to contain and apply a poisonous subtance. Your questions have already been answered in the links provided in this article. It doesn't appear that you clicked on any of them.
Start with this one:
http://news.met.police.uk/news/counter-terrorism-police-release-images-o...
You're right. It doesn't look like a standard Nina Ricci bottle. It has an elongated nozzle at the top instead of a standard perfume atomizer or roller ball. Looks like the long nozzle was used instead of an atomizer to decrease the chance of the chemical making contact with the person applying it. It's kind of like how a can of WD-40 has a long straw that can be attached at the output hole as to reach particular spots without getting a greasy mess on your fingers or gloves.
So that's how it was modified. Rather obvious, IMO, just by looking at the photo and especially by reading the information in the links provided.
5
Sound and fury. Means nothing--substantive! PM Theresa will not touch the Russian oligarch dirty money in Brit banks and real estate. That would be substantive. All these irate words are not.
18
@Cody McCall - I'm not sure that you could describe Mrs May's words as irate, or indeed those of any other British legislator or investigator. Measured and dignified would seem to be closer to it. The law will take its course. Russian intelligence officers have been expelled from the UK (and, thanks, from many allies territories too!) UK banking laws and visa provision have been tightened. The British way is to move forward in an unflashy way, but you shouldn't confuse that with inaction or lack of concern. The concern is, however, over the kleptocratic thuggery that controls the Russian state rather than the Russian people themselves - who have to endure this criminality and thuggery in their everyday lives and who should be pitied rather than resented.
1
Is there something about peaceful co-existence that threatens the power structure of Russia and America?
Did Orwell weigh in on this? How else did we end up like this?
Primitive Russia, communist bred, is led by the world's biggest gangster.
And Trump sees Putin as a role model.
I imagine the only thing Trump doesn't envy about Putin is that his home country is not gilded in gold and next to a couple of championship golf courses.
Trump went over there just to see -- but all he could find were banks of last resort -- and probably a honey trap.
Maybe some day we will find out the rest of the story.
10
@frankly 32
Why yes there is.
Russia never ceases to feel threatened. Try dealing with a paranoid or psychotic person sometimes and you'll know what I mean.
4
We all know Russia is an enemy and a continuing assault on Western values. Just another red light for threats to come.
16
And what are the Western values? To annex the territories? To bomb countries? To cause the misery of whole region because the West want to spread democracy, while it supports most repressive regimes in the ME?
2
Times: 'The men took a train to Salisbury on March 3, Mr. Basu said, adding that the trip “was for reconnaissance of the Salisbury area.” He said they had returned the next day to carry out the poisoning.'
They should have had someone else do the recon. That, along with leaving the bottle behind, are evidence of an extremely inept operation.
Times: '“We do understand they have traveled extensively in the past under these aliases,” Neil Basu, Britain’s top counterterrorism police official, said.'
That's a big no-no. Never reuse an alias. IIRC, that rule is reported in "Rise and kill first : the secret history of Israel's targeted assassinations" by Ronen Bergman.
5
Low level hit with expendable thugs, maybe intended to be discovered for obvious reasons? So what?
5
@OBJ, the article says nothing about the two Russians' extensive travel being assassin-work related. Are you perhaps writing from the perspective that this couldn't possibly be an officially sanctioned hit by the Russian state because they would have been much more clever and clean about it? The disposal of the bottle near the crime scene might have been done because the two were loathe to take a super-lethal nerve agent back with them to Russia once opened; unless of course they decided to open the bottle in their hotel room first since traces were found there (NB sarcasm).
But there was no collusion, right?
9
2 men from Russia's highest level secret service GRU, board s direct flight from Moscow to London with fake Russian passports. Yes fake Russian passports, not say another country. They then go around in broad daylight, look straight into security camera's and commits this a crime using chemical weapons on behalf of the Russian government?? Really? They also leave a trial evidence behind? And the Brits don't know their names, however they do know they are apart of the GRU?
This to me sounds like more of a set up, more then anything. Maybe not by the Brits but maybe another actor.
4
Or just a message to high value tagets, using Skripal as a low value target...
6
@Anna Poor English skills. Russian bot.
37
@Anna
Or poor comment by Russian. Not say another country either.
5
let me see. The guys was around Salisbury and had the traces of Novichok in their room. Could these traces get there from unidentified source that they came in touch while we're in Salisbury? After all the British couple had the whole bottle of Novichok and also lived not so far from Skripals. By such logic the British couple is more likely to be culprit.
4
Yulia, you should check your grammar before planting this ridiculous comment. How’s the weather in Moscow?
54
I was in hurry, but in America there are plenty of people for whom English is a second language, so misspelling could not be a proof of residency. I am surprised you don't know that. You must be one of these people who do venture outside of their blocks. And my comment is not more ridiculous than the evidence presented in the article. Two guys were in Salisbury around time of attack and trace of Novichok was found in their hotel room. How is it different from the British couple that lived around Salisbury at time of the attack and had Novichok all over their place. Their sickness can be explained by accident that happened while they handled the bottle.
Gotta hand it to the Brits.
Nice old-fashioned detective work, Scotland Yard.
Got 'em.
Thank You.
115
"Nice old fashioned detective work"? How about, "A haunting demonstration of the power of the surveillance state." Sure, these were bad guys, but look at what this says about freedom of movement and association. If the state can track your every step, then you only have as much freedom as the cop (or politician) in the control room decides to let you have.
4
No one is sitting in front of a screen watching you walk down the street. If a crime is committed they go back and look at many hours of footage from many locations.
@Allan
Jean Charles da Silva e de Menezes
d 22 July 2005, Stockwell, London. RIP.
In the UK we have lived in a closely surveilled state for many years now, but citizens generally believe that this infringement on our liberties and the actions of our security and intelligence agencies and of our police are necessitated by the threats our freedoms face from terrorist and rogue states.
There have been terrible mistakes, the most egregious of which was Mr de Menezes' tragic death in 2005, but the balance still lies with accepting the constraints on our freedoms required to protect our citizenry.
Under Putin’s reign, Russia doesn’t appear to want anything short of destroying the American Republic, and restoring Russia to a pseudo-Tsarist autocracy.
‘Active measures’:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Hanssen
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Chapman
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Butina
Etcetera.
8
And destruction of the EU. Timothy Snyder’s “The Road to Unfreedom” is an excellent, terrifying account of Russia’s activities and global goals.
6
This is an act of terror by the Russian government, whom our illegitimate president continues to defend over his own intelligence agencies.
Trump is so obviously compromised by Putin. He has to be removed from office. He's the greatest threat to not only our national security, but also that of our allies.
35
The remains of the poison in that little perfume bottle could, if repackaged, make a delightful birthday present for the head of the GRU. I do so believe in recycling.
28
Quite amazing what people will believe. Two highly trained KGB agents come to the UK, smile at every security camera on the way to Salisbury, give one of the deadliest poisons know to man to two people, who miracuously live through the ordeal, and then they smile at every security camera on the way to their Aeroflot flight back to Moscow. Humbug.
10
@Peejay
They knew they'd be safely back in Moscow long before anyone started looking for security camera footage.
15
@Peejay
you are ignoring Putin's tendency to "never give up" on enemies and always take his revenge on them....
Please, read the WHOLE article, as this is discussed toward the end of the article.
9
@Peejay. Good work comrades at the Internet Research Agency!
13
Isn't it time for civilized states to isolate Russia and render it a pariah among states?
31
London is one of the most heavily surveilled cities in the world. The security services have access to more than 500,000 security cameras. These two Russians didn't seem to be too well briefed on basic trade craft in eliminating that threat. They should also be very worried what Putin might do to them now that the world knows their faces. They can never leave Russia, ever. But they still know information that Putin would never want out. And just about everyone can be turned to provide information with the right incentive. Or perhaps they are both six feet under already, shoved into a panel van on arriving back to Moscow and simply ended - much like some of the Guantanamo Bay captives when sent 'home'.
8
This story also makes clear that the Israeli hit on Mahmoud Al-Mabhouh, of Hamas, back in 2010 is a good analog. Both involve a ton of surveillance footage, and things that wouldn't have been discovered 10 or 15 years ago. But with cameras everywhere now, we live in a different era for intelligence work. You'd think the GRU would know that, but apparently not. (Or, more likely, they don't care.)
12
The takeaway is that this is a sneak preview of future GOP shenanigans, and possibly a glimpse behind today's alt-right curtains. Fair play in democracy is as outdated and useless for power-mad Republicans as is democracy itself.
Meanwhile, time for some Russian vodka. It'll make global warming and a slow death less agonizing by removing the remnants of an already poor memory. Otherwise, too much national guilt, for too many betrayals of principle, along a long, storied, cash-laden and denial-paved way. Not the legacy you were looking for.
4
Pretty sloppy for them to have apparently discarded their fake perfume bottle where it could do more damage! That is surprising for something that was approved at such a presumably high level. One certainly feels for the victims of this assault, and that their loved ones will most likely never see justice for what was done, the work of the British authorities notwithstanding. One can only hope that one of the guilty parties, threatened by what they know, will eventually come out of the cold to tell the truth.
5
"Pretty sloppy for them to have apparently discarded their fake perfume bottle ..."
That's very puzzling. They should have had a way to neutralize any residue.
For a hair-raising account of what it is like to work with live nerve agent, see the Prologue to:
"War of nerves : chemical warfare from World War I to al-Qaeda" by Jonathan B. Tucker.
1
I doubt Trump will do anything because this latest news about painstaking British police work must be fake and who needs NATO allies. We can only hope Mark Zuckerberg will leap into action and ban Putin from posting selfies on Facebook.
5
Extradition is unlikely.
Harsher sanctions!
18
If there is any global entity more cynically and mendacious than the US President it is the murderous regime of Vladimir Putin's Russia. Here in the US, there is hope that the nation's democratic institutions and voters will rid us of our Trumpian carcinogen. In Russia, not so much.
Even more than the former USSR, Russia has become a country with which honest business can never be transacted. There is no point in trying. Every word emerging from the Kremlin is a lie; every action nasty or lethal. Diplomatic relations should be severed, if not by all western democracies, at least by Britain.
On Britain's behalf, NATO's Article 5 should be invoked.
24
This shows that airline security could not deal with a powerful poison in a small bottle. Now that this has been disclosed, what aspect of airport security would prevent this stuff from getting into the passenger section of an aircraft? It is bad enough when it is simply transported to use elsewhere.
15
@Harpo
Well, they did fly with the Russian carrier Aeroflot, so I suspect there were arrangements for the agents to skip security when boarding the plane in Russia.
(Although if it was less than 10cc of poison, then it wouldn't have been a problem anyway!)
9
@Harpo
Why limit a terror attack to an aircraft? A poison like Novichok could be smeared around a train station where 1000's of people pass through. Seems like airplanes are the least of our worries with a nerve agent.
3
Could , but so far despite being smeared it managed to kill just one person whose health was not good to start with
Russia has a land mass and resource base other nations can only dream of. Its future should be assured. But it is saddled with an incompetent Cold War anachronism for a "leader" whose extraordinary record of squandering opportunity for his people is peerless. Every solution he offers to every problem is pathetically outdated. Build an economy? He chooses to build a petro-state. Revive the flowering of Russian culture? He chooses to boost the corrupt Russian Orthodox Church. Engage in the increasingly intertwined world? He chooses to invade adjacent lands like the Soviets or Czars did, and indulge in cloak and dagger murder escapades such as the one highlighted in this article.
The only up-to-date project has been the social media and hacking project and, like everything else, it is only about destruction. Vladimir Putin has no capacity to build anything anywhere.
Remember that to a hammer everything looks like a nail. To a KGB agent, everything looks like a threat to be eliminated. Imagine what Russia would be by now if it had enjoyed authentic democratic governance over the Putin years.
232
@Flaminia
Well said. I often think "what if" because I remember the short-lived optimism of the Gorbachev era.
30
@Flaminia
Russia has never enjoyed authentic democratic governance except for brief intervals, and during those intervals it tends to fall into chaos. That is Russia's tragedy.
14
@Flaminia Right. And just compare Russia with China since they both had the s same political systems for decades.
How about this as an appropriate sanction: No Russians (except a very limited number of diplomats, who are confined to their embassies) are allowed to set foot in Western nations?
16
@bobbo
It would be easier to exclude them from the international banking system. When they can't move their ill-gotten gains out of Russia, or themselves and their families out of Russia, then things might change.
2
This whole thing about poison is nothing compared to the shooting down of the airliner. No one on that plane was involved in "patriot games". There were babies, young people, old people just flying back home or on vacation.
If this was a mistake, then why won't Russia (probably) or Ukraine
admit it and at least pay reparations or prosecute the perps?
Is there even definitive proof as to who did this?
This to me is the definition of evil.
31
@alanore The committee that investigated the downing of the airliner over Ukraine proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was the Russians or their lackeys using a Russian missile that did the dastardly deed. And yet NOTHING has been done to the perpetrators or the Russian government. The victims cry out for justice from the grave.
8
@0326
of course it was russia, but small countries are toothless when it come to sanctioning big countries. why didn't the EU impose penalties that would have hurt Putin and his gang of mass murderers?
6
I know what Trump will say. This poisoning could come have come from Russia, maybe China or some 400 lb person sitting in their bed right now. Evidence means nothing because we live in alternative facts world. However, this is now a chance for our Congress and civilized nations to put punitive sanctions for this action. Lindsay Graham, where is the mother of all sanctions you promised? If we don’t retaliate together strongly with the UK then the Russians will eventually do this in our country. Imagine if Manofort flipped? They could do that to him.
15
Since John McCain passed, Lindsey doesn’t have anyone with integrity to tell him how to think anymore. So he latched on to his golf partner, the lunatic Trump, who is now controlling what he thinks.
1
My, my.....Surprise, surprise. Does anyone still doubt that the little KGB colonel engineered this?
10
How is this different from a targeted killing with a drone half way across the globe in some remote village in Pakistan?
12
@X-Rusky It depends on who is targeted, in that remoet village in Pakistan. If someone in that Village is a fighter trying to kill Americans or Brits, then that is (remote) warfare.
In this case, Russia surrendered Sergei Skripal as part of a "Prisoner Swap." At that point, once an ex-agent is living in the West, and was exchanged for Russian warriors/ex-Warriors, the "gentleman's agreement" is that he is "off limits" from the battlefield.
14
@X-Rusky If it were a targeted killing by drone of the American who revealed security secrets who is now a guest in Moscow (sorry his name escapes me at the moment), then it would be no different.
2
@X-Rusky
At least people know and acknowledge there is a war going on in Pakistan.
2
And meanwhile Republican congressmen spend the 4th of July in Moscow. The madness needs to stop. The president and the GOP are all clearly compromised. It's time to vote in a congress that will do something about this.
59
@Tim S.
We don’t have to stand aside sitting on our hands like Republican legislators. We voters need to show up at the polls in droves and drive out the trump cult so that we can regain our democracy. By the way, John Kerry is looking very appealing for 2020. Listen to what he’s saying.
34
@Herman Villanova
Forget Kerry. Too old, too irrelevant and he lost when he had his chance. Democrats would be crazy to nominate him.
Better to go with Gillibrand.
So please explain to me again why we need Russia as a friend. You know it is becoming apparent to me we just may have to march on Washington after all. If the McConals of the republican party can't do for there nation, then we must.
41
@oscar jr
Because our president owes them money
25
These incidents did not happen without Putin's thumbs up. And yes, they look like very upstanding law-abiding KGB, oh I mean citizens. My grandparents fled their country for a reason - like surviving. Do you blame them!?
38
This is extraordinarily serious. Four U.S. presidents sent over 58,000 American soldiers to their deaths in Vietnam, with the covering rationale that Soviet and Chinese expansion had to be "contained" in Asia.
Now, we have a malevolent state in Russia- whose only real exports are terror and espionage- that assassinates civilians in Allied nations in broad daylight, shoots down civilian airliners (from the Netherlands!), invades sovereign nations (Crimea) and foments civil war (Ukraine).
The day that this turn of events elicits silence from Republicans- from the President through the Senate to the House- is shocking in its abject capitulation to everything the United States used to stand against. How any patriotic American can vote for a Republican ever again is a profound betrayal of the values that brave men like John McCain fought for and for which so many gave their lives. Shame on us all.
118
@EG The Republican party and Trump go along with Putin because the country is nominally capitalistic. Were it still Communist or even Scandinavian type socialist, they would be leading the charge.
4
@EG
"How any patriotic American can vote for a Republican ever again is a profound betrayal of the values that brave men like John McCain fought..."
So John Kennedy and Lyndon "Gulf of Tonkin" Johnson were Republican Presidents ?
Superb police work!
Clumsy Russian clowns discarding their poison where it would be found. We know they don't care about killing bystanders, or anyone else, but this also made it easier to build a dossier against them.
60
@Jonathan Katz
Those agents sure didn't want to be carrying that bottle anywhere because they knew that even a small amount would be lethal once it was open. They clearly didn't expect that people would pick up an almost empty perfume bottle. Rule 1 for the future: avoid being a collector of bottles that don't offer a deposit for being returned.
4
@Jonathan Katz
Clumsy Russians or did they just not care if they were later identified? Putin's brazen arrogance is indeed scary.
9
@Cicero Definitely brazen arrogance. Novichok was chosen specifically as the poison as it would easily be identified as Russian, despite their denials. There are many less complicated and more anonymous ways to commit murder.
1
All this sounds really, really bad, at least in the manner it is portrayed by the western press. But don't we need to step back and apply some uniformity to this analysis?
Sergei Skripal was clearly considered a potent enemy of the Russian state. He sold out his country as a double agent for the British; he was not merely a personal or political enemy of Vladimir Putin--he was an enemy of Russia.
The United States has firmly established the principle that when we consider people sufficient enemies of our nation we will reserve the right to kill them anywhere in the world they happen to be. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of drone attacks have killed thousands of our enemies (and unwitting nearby civilians), often on the soil of non-combatant nations. Our allies the Israelis practice the same policies, usually more up close and personally than with drones.
I am not saying I disagree with our policies, and in fact I don't, but can we really criticize the Russians for doing the same thing, just because they happen to be doing it on the territory of an English-speaking ally?
14
It is, indeed, a game played by both sides.
And when they get caught, we can rightly say, “Gotcha!”
6
Chuck, using chemical weapons is banned by global agreements. On top of this, this act was done in the territory of a nation state.
This opens the door to the widespread use of chemical weapons as a tool for terrorists. Are you really ok with that?
69
@Chuck French
False equivalence. US attacks on foreign "targets of interest" are legally sanctioned as an act of war under the Patriot Act. You don't get to drop a drone strike on anyone you like. There are rules guiding what is legally allowed. May I remind you, Edward Snowden would already be dead by your reasoning. The US government does not assassinate people anymore.
What happened in Britain is fundamentally different. Active Russian intelligence agents were explicitly sent to violate the sovereignty of a nation at which Russia is not at war with the direct intent to murder at least two British civilian nationals. It doesn't matter whether Skripals was a former agent. He is now a civilian and a British national. Not the same thing.
19
How low can the Russian state get? A brazen attack on not only the target of the assassination, but on several innocent British citizens as well. Words like despicable come to mind, and we can be thankful that we still have fellow Americans like the late John McCain and John Brennan, who would stand up for truth and call out the villains behind the cowardly attack. More sanctions are the order of the day. Is the Executive branch capable of responding appropriately? Clearly, a red line needs to be drawn so this assassination method does not happen here.
20
Our president will surely speak out about these murders, will he not? Or maybe he's afraid to.
12
A related question is when will other European leaders speak?
5
@sing75
He owes them $
9
@sing75 Of course not. Do you think that he will bite the hand that put him in office?
10
A couple of Pootie's " best people. " I suppose Trump would approve.
26
Expecting radio silence fron Trump on this.
138
@M. Grove
Trump most certainly knew about this before his shameful summit with Putin. Nonetheless, he licked Putin's boots in public all the same. One can only imagine what has transpired behind the closed doors.
I'm a bit surprised that the regular Russia defenders have not yet flooded the comments section with their usual expressions of thoughtful skepticism. "Baseless accusations", "notoriously russophobic intelligence agencies of the UK", "could be anyone" etc. etc.
Come on people, none of that pro-Putin apologetics is going to write itself.
77
@Leonid Andreev
Exactly. Some of it is already here. Check out peejay.
5
@Leonid Andreev
It's early morning in Moscow, and they're just waking up. We'll hear from them.
@Leonid Andreev
You forgot plausible deniability wrapped in a smug, preposterous suggestion of something completely ludicrous.
If a hostile government can get its enemies people to distrust the ability of the home government to protect them from chemical, cyber, and other kinds of attacks, then half the battle is won. More and more British and Americans feel that their own governments are the enemy. We see it here in the US with the hyper-persecution complex Trump models and in the assaults carried out in England. Distrust, as a prevailing sentiment, is the best secret weapon a rogue state has for weakening its targets. Trump has weakened the US, clearly, with his anti-EU and anti-NATO stance. He has also weakened the EU and NATO by doing that. And now, fingers will be pointing more angrily at May than at Putin and just like in the US, domestic matters will never be the same.
29
Gee, based upon those photographs of the two men, they don't look shady at all.
Next up, those two other shady characters who were captured on tape asking "where are moose and squirrel?".
14
@drw Where's Natasha? Oh, she's in jail in the USA!
2
@drw
Why are you making a joke of this?
One woman died and several others nearly did.
Almost anyone's "mug shot" makes them look suspicious....which is really all you're saying.
1
And our nightmare of a President, enabled by a seemingly spineless Republican Party that sees/hears/speaks no evil, continues to kowtow to Putin.
Given Trump's blatant slavish subservience to Putin, the idea that Russia has Kompromat on Trump seems all-too-real.
What a miserable state of affairs.
91
It seems like the British could have sent people to Russia to surreptitiously find these men and at the very least point out who and where they were before notifying the public.
3
Sounds safe and easy. Any volunteers?
10
@Jim
They've probably already been liquidated or locked up in Siberia for botching the job.
2
So, this is death staring us in the eye?
3