On the Attack in the U.K.

Something which recently happened may advise us about the unfortunate attack on an ex-Russian double spy in the U.K. So, I decided to look at some recent responses to the interview of Vladimir Putin.

NBC's journalist Megyn Kelly [interviewed Vladimir Putin] in Kaliningrad, Russia March 2, 2018.

 
Remembering that the interviewer had formerly worked for FOX News and that her agenda may have been tied to another larger Conservative Republican or Trumpian agenda, I looked at some news articles about the interview and what Putin said.

First, from Haaretz, some background on the identity of Jews in Russia:

"When Boruch Gorin, a well-known rabbi in Moscow (and a senior aide to Russian Chief Rabbi Berel Lazar, the head of the Chabad movement in Russia), traveled for the first time from Russia to the United States, a U.S. Customs officer asked him whether he was Russian

“I said, ‘No, I’m not Russian — I’m Jewish,’” Gorin recalled Monday,"


So, the identity of peoples within the old Soviet Union or even Russia today are less clear than in many countries. When an American hears someone is Russian they think of national citizenship, but in Russia or many other European countries, it means they are of Russian ethnicity.

Gorin’s benign view of Putin’s remark is shared by the chief rabbi of Moscow, Pinchas Goldschmidt.


Putin said,

"In the interview with NBC News, Putin said that Russians who allegedly interfered with the 2016 U.S. presidential election perhaps are “not even Russians,” adding “Maybe they’re Ukrainians, Tatars, Jews, just with Russian citizenship. Even that needs to be checked. Maybe they have dual citizenship. Or maybe a green card. Maybe it was the Americans who paid them for this work. How do you know? I don’t know.”  "

https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/europe/why-jews-in-russia-don-t-think-putin-s-comments-are-anti-semitic-1.5896535

Remember that the interview wasn't just with NBC News, but with a former FOX 'journalist'.


In an article of the Jerusalem Post, Putin is quoted as saying that,

"he “could not care less” about indictments issued by US Special Counsel Robert Mueller accusing Russian nationals and companies of election interference, stating that “they do not represent the interests of the Russian state” and are unrelated to the Kremlin"

Meanwhile, Pres. Trump has said (at a joint news conference with Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven),

“Well, the Russians had no impact on our votes whatsoever, but certainly there was meddling and probably there was meddling from other countries and maybe other individuals,...”.

http://www.jpost.com/International/Putin-Jews-might-have-been-behind-US-election-interference-544708"


In another article Putin repeated a claim he has made before,

"In the interview, Putin claimed that the United States interferes in Russian elections "all the time" but that it was "impossible for us" to do the same."

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-03-10/putin-on-alleged-us-election-interference-i-don-t-care


In another article about the conduct of Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State,

"And in January, he blamed Russia for chemical attacks in Syria -- an impossible starting position for any discussion with the Kremlin."

"In his telling, the Trump administration tried to talk things through with Russia, but, "quite frankly, after a year, we didn't get very far." There are no public traces of these attempts, though."

"In the latest Russia-related scandal, the attempted poisoning of former Russian military intelligence officer Sergei Skripal in the U.K., Tillerson hastened to put the blame on Russia, echoing and even somewhat amplifying the assessment of U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May."


https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-03-13/tillerson-refused-to-do-another-deal-with-russia


It is his public statement agreeing with PM May which may have led to his firing. Pres. Trump doesn't countenance any criticism of Putin from members of his administration.


In an article by Huffington Post they quote Putin (from the interview),

"“There are 146 million Russians. ... I couldn’t care less. ... They do not represent the interests of the Russian state.”"

He added that though they might have been Russian citizens, they were NOT Russian government employees. He did not clarify that they may have been private citizens working for the government on a contract basis.

Putin: "Maybe it was the Americans who paid them for this work. How do you know? I don’t know.”"

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/vladimir-putin-election-interference-jews-ukrainians_us_5aa49b2fe4b086698a9e7274



In an article from TheHill.com,

"A deadline set by Prime Minister Theresa May passed early Wednesday without comment from Russia after the British government demanded answers about an ex-Russian spy attacked on British soil with a nerve agent."

"Reuters reports that British diplomats accused Russia of violating international law by attempting an assassination of Sergei Skripal, a former Russian spy who defected to the U.K., on foreign soil on Wednesday after Moscow did not respond to the deadline."

"“The council and the United Nations General Assembly have decried Russia’s violations of international law with alarming regularity. Its reckless behavior is an affront to all this body stands for,” British Ambassador Julian Braithwaite told the U.N. Human Rights Council, according to the news service."

"“Moscow had nothing to do with what happened in Britain. It will not accept any totally unfounded accusations directed against it and will also not accept the language of ultimatums,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday, Reuters reported."

http://thehill.com/policy/international/378298-deadline-passes-without-explanation-from-russia-on-ex-spys-poisoning


Like the meddling done in U.S. elections, Vladimir Putin simply denies involvement and would supposedly await evidence from the U.S. or the U.K. of their wrong-doing. Such evidence is rarely available and Putin's political opponents or other enemies of his continue to die. In America, Pres. Trump has no comment on that fact.


So, what can be made of these conversations and statements and known events? Putin stonewalls very consistently. The West may have intelligence information they cannot (or will not) reveal (for now). Pres. Trump is steadfastly with Putin. PM May has a serious problem as Russian ex-pats keep dying in her country. This time British citizens were also harmed!

It may be that people are confused by the recent Putin remarks about Jews or other people having committed the election-meddling. Some people are very sensitive about anti-Semitism (anti-Jews) and it may not be relative to recent events at all.

Perhaps most dangerous is the question of whether anyone could have had their hands on the nerve agent used in the U.K., other than Russian government employees directed by Vladimir Putin. Since Putin won't answer the question directly, people will fear the worst. The worst may be that he ordered it OR that he lost control of it. He certainly couldn't answer publicly during a political campaign moment that he has lost control of the nerve agent. Perhaps among the Russian electorate who generally support Putin, he could gain support for being seen as using the nerve agent intentionally. The fearless leader who says all traitors will be punished or killed could do that.

Is that the key to this? The timing. Has someone utilized this nerve agent in order to destroy Putin? Or, has Putin done this specifically to bolster his image within Russia as a derring-do heroic figure? When is his election? How will his chances be changed by this event? Is he evil/heroic for using the nerve agent or is he out of control and not to be trusted as the Russian leader?

Here in America everyone can see the light at the end of the tunnel for the "Election Meddling" investigation. Many suspect it will end the Trump presidency. Is there a similar attempt to destroy Putin? Is this part of the retaliation against Russia (Putin) for the election meddling? Or, is Trump trying to be rid of Putin to tie-off any potential blow-back from Russia in order to establish some kind of defense from attacks here in America?

All these speculations and it seems much more likely the purposes of the attack in the U.K. were political as well as directed at the ex-spy. The nerve agent used was obviously far more than necessary to kill one man. So, this is political terrorism with a strategic purpose: destroy Putin.

One other thing which has been on my mind recently is the difficulties with Russia in Syria and the waffling of Turkey between NATO and Russia. It is possible that with Trump supporting Putin, the attack on a NATO country (the U.K.) may have been done by Putin to stress the NATO relationship. Already PM May has called for pressure on Putin, but Pres. Trump has said he isn't interested in responding. This is not good.

Like many crises, this one has all the uncertainty and confusion. Like 9/11 in America, the purposes, the parties behind the act, even the means, can be uncertain. It's as though someone wants an act done publicly to create a reaction, but to remain hidden to ensure the calculated act cannot be undone by THE TRUTH.

Was it a false flag attack? Was the U.S. election meddling a false flag attack? Is blame being placed where it does not belong? Rarely do we see all the facts the intelligence community can discover, but I hope the political leaders truly do have sufficient information to make good judgments.