When you consider means, motive and opportunity, the death of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko looks a lot like murder — and the Kremlin looks a lot like a suspect.
Consider the means: Polonium 210, a radioactive substance that is deadly when ingested and very hard to detect. It also happens to be one of the world’s rarest elements — something only a state might possess.
Motive: Litvinenko has defended the Chechen separatists battling Moscow’s rule. He was a longtime critic of the Russian government in general, and President Vladimir Putin in particular.
Opportunity: Litvinenko fell ill after meeting with a contact who claimed to have information connecting the Kremlin with the October slaying of another critic, journalist Anna Politkovskaya.
Posted by Dave Knadler
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25 Comments
Really think so?
Putin is no better than Stalin. Look how many of his critics disappear or get killed.
How many, Mary ?
Another public blunder published by the insanely curious and clueless.
Let’s give terrorist another idea on how to kill people.
The person in the photo sure looks a lot like Sir Paul McCartney. I wondered if there was a editorial foul up.
Steven Davis, I have also noticed the facial similarity; however, all the “tube” media sources I’ve seen use, as far as I can tell, the same photo, id’d as Litvinenko.
How many, Mary ?
There have been many reports of reporters who have disappeared reporting on what is going on in Russia. This was long before this man was murdered. Most of them being tied to the ‘new’ wealthy upper class as well.
It doesn’t take a brain surgeon.
Don’t give the terrorists new means of killing people? Please. That is the most ridiculous thing i’ve ever heard. I’m sure the terrorists have a supply of Polonium just kickin in their freezer somewhere.
look for the russian jewish maffia: berezovsky in london and nevzlin in izrael: litvinenko worked for berezovsky and recently visited nevzlin in izrael. they silenced the guy to pressure the russia from whom this scum stole billions and then ran abroad.
Something else about Polonium 210 – it has a half-life of about 138 days. In order to be effective as a radioactive poision, it must be fairly “fresh”. Again, only a state with significant nuclear capability would have access to this element.
It appears obvious… Many say too obvious. That’s how the big lie (a favorite tactic of dictators since the 1930s) works. It appears obvious because polonium is very hard to get, and that Litvenenko was a harsh critic who claimed Putin was behind it on his death-bed. Yes, it takes a spy to know a spy, esp one as well-connected and powerful as Litvenenko had been. I believe he’s right.
Unfortunatedly, in today’s society, with arbitrary popularity often dictated by disinformation and cynicism, a Putin, Guliani, or Bush may (have) been popular, while a Clinton or Gorbacev, peacemakers, good men, get bad names… As citizens and human beings, we need to use the brains that we have, instead of being ruled by our emotions when it comes to politics!!
Stalin was responsible for the deaths of millions of Russians, Ukranians, Tatars, Jews, and other ethnic groups in the Soviet Union. Putin, or people friendly to Putin, or people who want to make Putin look bad (let’s not forget that possibility), are whacking journalists. Putin is an authoritarian right-winger, no doubt about it; but Stalin was a monster. Equating the two trivializes what Stalin did and gives us no reasonable way of understanding the dangers of Putin’s continuing lockdown on free speech in Russia.
As for “giving the terrorists ideas”: puh-leeze. They haven’t even exhausted the ideas from Tom Clancy’s hyper-”patriotic” novels yet. Always better to get all the risks out in the open. Then we can rationally (ha ha) choose which ones we want to protect ourselves against. Polonium poisoning, I have to say, is pretty low on my personal list of concerns. But I live within 20 miles of a nuclear power plant. What has this administration done to protect me from an attack on that plant, I wonder?
Come on people-why would a government poison someone with Poloniun 210? First of all its expensive and rare and from the news, traceable-they’ve discovered it everywhere the guy has been! Why not save a few bucks and hire some bums to mug and kill him, or run him over with a car in a hit and run??? To me, killing someone with such an elaborate and rare method highly disqualifies governments-they would have done it to avoid being traced, not by using a traceable item like Polonium.
Sounds as if they didn’t care and really wanted to make this guly suffer- which he did.
Though Stalin may have been worse, the methods used by Putin are eerily reminiscent… Making war on minorities, and blaming them; killing opponents in purges; using disinformation and lies (propaganda) to win public approval. Those that fail to analyze history are bound to repeat it. This is a most serious issue!
I guarantee that Stalin’s actions in the 1930s & 40s were no more obvious to the public!
As for polonium being traceable, it is only so if one knows what to look for. Because its so rare, its symptoms are not well understood, few think to look for it! The British stumbled on it as the probable cause only after more than a week of testing, too late to save Litvinenko’s life!On the other hand, its discovery puts other opponents of the regimeon notice: It creates an atmosphere of terror! Again, a favorite tactic of Stalin & his Soviet administration… This event must be taken in context… Look carefully at the other suspicious deaths associated with the Putin government!
I heard this Polonium is a primary ingredient in triggering a nuclear reaction.
Whoever did this is making a statement. “We’ve got this stuff and we will use it.”
GerCat – “Come on people-why would a government poison someone with Poloniun 210?”
Simple – to send a message, loud and clear. Cross the Putin regime and pay the price.
The interesting thing is that Litvenenco pointed out that many ‘terrorist attacks’ blamed on Chechen separatists were actually done by KGB. Many observers had speculated that these bombings were “Reischtagg Burnings” but they were dismissed as being just way too far out. Looks like they were right.
This kind of thing should serve as a warning that an assasination, etc, might have been done by the ‘opposite side’ in order to foment violence.
rm6046His biggest critics, Anna Politkovskaya, Enver Ziganshin, and Andrei Kozlov were all assasinated in the last 3 months, plus all the murders in Chechnya.If you think Putin wasn’t involved, I have some beach front property in Arizona I’d like to sell you.I’m not comparing him to Stalin as far as numbers, just his evil, sociopathic personality.
But just remember Mary – Bush looked into Putin’s eyes and saw a man of his own kind; a man he can trust.
With all the many things going on in our world, I have to ask one question concerning the poisoning of a spy. WHO CARES???
Because of its implications. Like why do we care about the assasination of a Phalange Party (ask Ian about them) member in Lebanon?
This guy was spilling the beans about lies behind the suppression of Chechnya. A ‘message’ needed to be sent that revealing these lies to public scrutiny is hazardous to one’s health.
It is not that this spy was killed.
It is HOW this spy was killed. I say again it was meant to send a message.
Ben…not surprising, birds of a feather and all that.
Litvinennko’s wife, associate also test positive for P210 poisoning:
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/12/01/uk.spywrap/index.html