Tuesday, March 13, 2018

Nafeez Ahmed — The British government’s Russia nerve agent claims are bullshit

On Monday, Prime Minister Theresa May announced that former Russian spy, Sergey Skripal and his daughter Yulia, were poisoned with “a military-grade nerve agent of a type developed by Russia” known as ‘Novichok’.
The chemical agent was identified by the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory at Porton Down. May referred to the British government’s “knowledge that Russia has previously produced this agent and would still be capable of doing so” as a basis to conclude that Russia’s culpability in the attack “is highly likely.”
On these grounds, she claimed that only two scenarios are possible:
“Either this was a direct act by the Russian State against our country. Or the Russian government lost control of this potentially catastrophically damaging nerve agent and allowed it to get into the hands of others.”
The British government’s line has been chorused uncritically by the entire global press corps, with little scrutiny of its plausibility.
But there is a problem: far from offering a clear-cut evidence-trail to Vladimir Putin’s chemical warfare labs, the use of Novichok in the nerve gas attack on UK soil points to a wider set of potential suspects, of which Russia is in fact the least likely....
It may turn out that Russia did indeed carry out the Novichok attack. But at this time, the British state has no real basis to presume that. Which implies that the state has already decided that it wants to manufacture a path to heightened hostilities with Russia, regardless of the evidence. And that does not bode well.
INSURGE intelligence - Medium
Craig Murray | British Ambassador to Uzbekistan from August 2002 to October 2004 and Rector of the University of Dundee from 2007 to 2010

Also
In short, both parties appear to be doing everything in their power to get as many people killed as possible, and nobody seems to have their foot anywhere near the brake pedal. Heads up.
The Greanville Post
Trump Promotes Longtime Russia Hawk Just As Russiagate Loses Momentum
Caitlin Johnstone

4 comments:

Ralph Musgrave said...

The Russian who was poisoned is a former Russian spy who betrayed mother Russia, as I understand it. Now there are only (at a guess) about ten governments who have access to highly sophisticated nerve agents (even though they're supposed to have destroyed all stocks).

Second, who would have a motive to kill someone who had betrayed Russia? That wouldn't be Russia by any chance would it?

Tom Hickey said...

Also an associate of Christopher Steele, Ralph. and quite possibly involved in the production of the Trump dossier. That seriously complicates the cui bono? thingie.

Kaivey said...

If Russia did something as stupid as that, it would bring on the very thing Russia is trying to avoid. And why ago it now, at completely the wrong time, when the West is after Russia.

Also, it's amateurish, like our if a James Bond movie, and why use a nerve agent that Russia developed way back in the 50's giving the West the ammo it needs to accuse Russia.

Also, intelligence agencies have far better ways of getting rid of people. The favourite British one is finding someone who had died in a kinky sex experiment gone wrong. They will be found with an orange in their mouth and a plastic bag over their head, where apparently, the lack of oxygen creates a better orgasm.

Loads of people involved in British defence and politics died this way over the years, but this was before Russia was being black listed like it is today, so these deaths were just considered to be accidents. Very convenient.

Kaivey said...

Some typos in there, but I think people will understand it.