Theresa May Hits Russia for Attempted Murder on British Soil — All Eyes Now on Trump
Looks like Theresa May is done “working through the details” (to quote Sarah Sanders) of who was responsible for an attempted assassination on U.S. soil. The culprit? One Vladimir Putin — and there are going to be (minor) consequences:
British Prime Minister Theresa May announced punitive measures against Russia on Wednesday over the chemical weapon attack on Russian former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter in the English city of Salisbury. Speaking on the floor of the British Parliament, May said Russia had provided “no credible explanation” as to how the powerful Novichok chemical nerve agent came to be used in Britain, saying, “instead they have treated the use of a military grade chemical agent in Europe with sarcasm, contempt.”
She said it was part of a “well established pattern” of Russian actions and that she and her cabinet had “agreed immediate actions to dismantle Russian espionage operations in the U.K.” — Britain was formally expelling 23 Russian diplomats who were identified as “undeclared” intelligence agents.
. . . .
May said Britain would not cut all diplomatic contact with Russia, but it would curtail “all planned high level bilateral contacts,” including revoking an invite to Russia’s top diplomat Sergey Lavrov. In addition, she said no members of the royal family or the cabinet would attend the soccer World Cup this summer in Russia.
Although Donald Trump did not go as far as Rex Tillerson in recent days to put the blame squarely on the Russian government, he did express support to May in a phone call. Now that May has pointed the finger directly at Putin’s Russia, the world looks to Trump to see how he will respond.
Generic “we stand with our British allies” statements are all well and good and to be expected. And nobody is expecting us to expel diplomats. The real question is: will Trump actually stand up in public and unequivocally say Putin was responsible for this attack?
I’m going to go out on a small limb and say no. Based on his past attitude towards Putin, we won’t be seeing Trump issuing a clear statement of blame. At best, we’ll get the usual Delphic word-salad pronouncement that will be open to interpretation.
And what Trump says is really all that matters, as Garry Kasparov explains:
Honestly, Pompeo, Tillerson, whatever. Putin is a mafia boss and only cares about what another boss has to say. Anything Trump's admin says about Putin is nearly irrelevant as long as Trump himself refuses to stand up to Putin.
— Garry Kasparov (@Kasparov63) March 13, 2018
I predict that, by the end of the day, many of those who called for Trump to stand shoulder to shoulder with May will explain that this is really England’s problem, and that of course Trump shouldn’t directly accuse Putin. He doesn’t have the evidence that England has! It’s bad for diplomacy! Yada yada. I can already hear it.
I’d love to be proved wrong. I don’t think I will be.
[Cross-posted at RedState and The Jury Talks Back.]
Oh, well, you know. Lots of countries do horrible things. Who can say? Maybe a 400 guy in his mother’s basement cooked up exotic nerve gas and poisoned those people.
Coasta (51fdf0) — 3/14/2018 @ 9:22 amSounds like Trump is following your advice not to draw conclusions in the absence of hard evidence.
random viking (7de8a8) — 3/14/2018 @ 9:29 amThis is really England’s problem, and of course Trump shouldn’t directly accuse Putin.
He doesn’t have the evidence that England has!
It’s bad for diplomacy!
Dave (ac1051) — 3/14/2018 @ 9:29 am#ReleaseTheDocumentation
random viking (7de8a8) — 3/14/2018 @ 9:32 amYou forgot:
“There are a lot of killers. You think our country’s so innocent?”
Dave (ac1051) — 3/14/2018 @ 9:33 amLooks like Theresa May is done “working through the details” (to quote Sarah Sanders) of who was responsible for an attempted assassination on U.S. soil.
I’d love to be proved wrong. I don’t think I will be.
UK soil, baby.
papertiger (c8116c) — 3/14/2018 @ 9:36 amYou’re welcome. Glad to help.
papertiger (c8116c) — 3/14/2018 @ 9:37 amWills and Harry not attending the World Cup? I am sure Putin is shaking in his boots at that one.
Kishnevi (1b8c69) — 3/14/2018 @ 9:44 amThe Left goes with comediansf for strategy/policy and the Right goes with chess players?
Colonel Haiku (f0e797) — 3/14/2018 @ 9:45 amLooks like they need their own tea party, we now rule Great Britain?
God Save teh Queen!
Colonel Haiku (f0e797) — 3/14/2018 @ 9:47 amCompletely OT, and nothing actually relevant to Trump, but too entertaining not to sure, even if the source is SPLC
https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2018/03/13/twp-chief-matthew-heimbach-arrested-battery-after-affair-top-spokesmans-wife
The kicker is for some reason buried well down in the story.
Kishnevi (1b8c69) — 3/14/2018 @ 9:48 amThey had one, the independence party, they did as much to put it out of business, while squandering the opportunity of brexit.
narciso (d1f714) — 3/14/2018 @ 9:51 amhttp://freebeacon.com/national-security/tillerson-fired-rogue-bid-save-iran-nuke-deal/
Well at least we know why Tillerson was fired and it was as expected, not the conspiracy theory that some wished.
NJRob (b00189) — 3/14/2018 @ 9:51 amSo theresa may has proven useless to protect the lives of 300 or so of her countrymen what good has she been?
narciso (d1f714) — 3/14/2018 @ 9:54 amhttps://twitter.com/brithume/status/973638893252829185/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Face.mu.nu%2F
Quoting Kasparov’s remarks, but not the President. Why is that?
NJRob (b00189) — 3/14/2018 @ 9:54 amlol and you’re worried about President Trump getting us into a silly unnecessary war
looks like this inane british frump’s off to the bloody races
happyfeet (28a91b) — 3/14/2018 @ 9:57 amWill the Argentines get their own version of the Zimmerman telegraph?
urbanleftbehind (5eecdb) — 3/14/2018 @ 10:03 amOf course waiting in the wing is their version of Bernie sanders, PLO, Ira, stb eta fan boi Jeremy corbyn,
narciso (d1f714) — 3/14/2018 @ 10:03 amIts time for Recruiting Seargent/Medley, kills two birds with one stone this particular week.
urbanleftbehind (5eecdb) — 3/14/2018 @ 10:06 amThey can’t just announce that Putin is a dead man walking.
SarahW (3164f0) — 3/14/2018 @ 10:07 amthe takeaway here seems to be that the british versions of failmerica’s sleazy cia/fbi poofterboys are just as incompetent weak and useless as our ones
(and ounce of prevention as they say)
happyfeet (28a91b) — 3/14/2018 @ 10:07 amIn addition, she said no members of the royal family or the cabinet would attend the soccer World Cup this summer in Russia.
holy effing mother of mutually assured destruction i didn’t see that at first
this is serious
happyfeet (28a91b) — 3/14/2018 @ 10:10 amIt was likely done by an ‘illegal’ lugovoy is in parliament now, still would take a change getting into the country
narciso (d1f714) — 3/14/2018 @ 10:10 amGetting serious the Salisbury plain is like attacking ft. Belvoir,
narciso (d1f714) — 3/14/2018 @ 10:17 amSo kicking a few diplomats who were dining on bangers and mash won’t cut it, now are they prepared for a war with a nuclear power.
If it comes to war between Russia and the Brits, my money will be on the latter.
Apart from their two losses to us (no shame in that), they’re pretty much undefeated against the rest of the world.
Since this was a chemical weapon attack on their home soil, it think they could even call in the rest of NATO for a king-sized (no pun intended) helping of whoop-ass on Vladimir. Hell, the Poles probably won’t even wait to be asked…
Dave (ac1051) — 3/14/2018 @ 10:18 amDid they say how it was administered? You can’t just spray it or throw it on someone unless you’re in full hazmat gear.
nk (dbc370) — 3/14/2018 @ 10:18 amSince it has spread into the local community, id guess around the restaurant,
narciso (d1f714) — 3/14/2018 @ 10:22 amOne theory is that is was applied to a car door handle.
Too many affected, though.
SarahW (3164f0) — 3/14/2018 @ 10:25 amMichael Wolff whose work comes highly recommended by this blog says President Trump is actually keenly sensitized to the dangers of poisonous substances:
Theresa May Clampett on the other hand (as far as we know) eschews McDonald’s and therefore, we can assume, she’s inherently comfortable with assuming a much higher level of risk.
Could it be that her relatively nonchalant attitude toward poisoning came back to bite her in this instance?
Vigilance is just so key.
Our president, President Donald Trump, understands this on a very deep level.
Theresa unfortunately is having to learn the hard way. 🙁
happyfeet (28a91b) — 3/14/2018 @ 10:25 amHe must go to either very rural or very inner city McDonalds.
urbanleftbehind (5eecdb) — 3/14/2018 @ 10:27 amthat’s classified
happyfeet (28a91b) — 3/14/2018 @ 10:28 amDave, you’re starting to sound like Slim Pickens in Dr. Strangelove. I wish you would get as fired up about moslems and illegals murdering Americans as you do about Russians killing Limeys.
Rev.Hoagie (1b0402) — 3/14/2018 @ 10:29 amOne theory is that is was applied to a car door handle.
I’d call Harvey Keitel
he’ll know what to do
happyfeet (28a91b) — 3/14/2018 @ 10:34 amToe-to-toe nuke-u-lar combat with the Russkies!
Dave (ac1051) — 3/14/2018 @ 10:35 amyou and i in a little toy shop buy a bag o’ balloons with the money we got
happyfeet (28a91b) — 3/14/2018 @ 10:36 amSame Brits that banned Laura Southern and other outspoken individuals, but let radical imams in that preach death to the West?
NJRob (b00189) — 3/14/2018 @ 10:38 amWhen do the Russian people take out Putin like he did Sergio? Man up mofos.
mg (9e54f8) — 3/14/2018 @ 10:40 amThe English subjects love them some sharia law.
mg (9e54f8) — 3/14/2018 @ 10:41 amBased on his past attitude towards Putin, we won’t be seeing Trump issuing a clear statement of blame. At best, we’ll get the usual Delphic word-salad pronouncement that will be open to interpretation.
This is what President Trump said yesterday:
somebody please to get Mr. Kasparov a fresh pair of panties
happyfeet (28a91b) — 3/14/2018 @ 10:42 amC’mon, Hoagie!!! If it is even tangentially relating to teh Trump, ConDave sees reds
Colonel Haiku (f0e797) — 3/14/2018 @ 10:45 amTruth be told, rick Sanchez was probably their rising star:
narciso (d1f714) — 3/14/2018 @ 10:49 amhttps://twitchy.com/gregp-3534/2018/03/14/cnn-goes-full-chaplinsky-in-search-of-ratings-replaces-anderson-cooper-with-chris-cuomo/?utm_campaign=twitchywidget
‘…this is really England’s problem…’
It really sort of is…
‘Russia′s big businesses and tycoons developed strong ties with the UK′s financial institutions in the 1990s, after the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. The countries share a history of intense espionage activities against each other, with the Soviet Union succeeding in penetration of top echelons of British intelligence and security establishment in the 1930s–1950s. Conversely, British Intelligence asset Oleg Penkovsky run by London and British agent Oleg Gordievsky allegedly contributed to averting the threat of Thermonuclear War during the Cuban Missile Crisis . Since the 19th century, England has been a popular destination for Russian political exiles, refugees, and wealthy fugitives from the Russian speaking world.’ – wikipedia
They share a lot of history in this arena; the Cambridge Five; the Profumo matter, etc., This was simply sloppy, ‘soviet-styled’ spycraft. May had to respond w/a public ‘tit-for-tat’ expulsion game as they work the problem back into the shadows.
DCSCA (797bc0) — 3/14/2018 @ 10:49 amCountess times, DJT has insisted that bad actors are “good guys” despite overwhelming evidence they are not. It’s the highbrow way Never publicly speak ill of another in your class unless it is unavoidable, or there is some direct benefit to doing so.
This is the man, for God’s sake, who put Omarosa in the West Wing. To expect standard accountability from him is to engage in pipe dreams.
Ed from SFV (3400a5) — 3/14/2018 @ 10:54 amGreatest. Manager. Of. All. Time.
Dave (ac1051) — 3/14/2018 @ 10:58 amSo was Rex canned over Putin Poison or the Iran nuke deal?
harkin (df3a15) — 3/14/2018 @ 11:04 amSpanky’s lips are brown from licking Putin’s boots. It’s sickening.
Tillman (a95660) — 3/14/2018 @ 11:08 am@44. Management by remote control; tomorrow our Captain hires an ex-Wall-Streeter-turned- television-talker who once nursed a $10,000/month cocaine habit as America’s new Chief Economic Advisor. But hey, he does good on the TeeVee!
DCSCA (797bc0) — 3/14/2018 @ 11:09 am@45. Calling the boss a ‘f–king moron’ sealed his fate long ago.
DCSCA (797bc0) — 3/14/2018 @ 11:11 amWait ‘til they examine beenburned!
https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/03/doctors-shocked-by-3-5-inch-air-bubble-where-part-of-mans-brain-should-be/
Colonel Haiku (33b771) — 3/14/2018 @ 11:21 amMost likely the latter also as signal to kim dauphin
narciso (d1f714) — 3/14/2018 @ 11:25 amdisgraced FBI slutboy Andy McCabe could lose his pension?
looks like it depends on what deputy attorney general Jeff Sessions decides
happyfeet (28a91b) — 3/14/2018 @ 11:25 amStark raving mad:
narciso (d1f714) — 3/14/2018 @ 11:31 amhttp.powerlineblog.com/archives/2018/03/larry-tribe-a-sad-case.php
“Since this was a chemical weapon attack on their home soil, it think they could even call in the rest of NATO for a king-sized (no pun intended) helping of whoop-ass on Vladimir. </em"
Indeed, it could be this is a neocon plot to draw us into a war with Russia. Has this use of a “nerve agent only Russia could have used” even been confirmed by credible outside analysis?
I’m not saying that is what this is, it’s just an interesting question I’ve heard being asked.
the Bas (3bcea0) — 3/14/2018 @ 11:39 amsays the guy with a space in his name
happyfeet (28a91b) — 3/14/2018 @ 11:40 amtomorrow our Captain hires an ex-Wall-Streeter-turned- television-talker
this is way way better than the corpulent dirty sacky democrat Mr. Kudlow will replace
as you can see President Trump’s tirelessly refining his government for to optimize value and performance!
happyfeet (28a91b) — 3/14/2018 @ 11:45 amThe Traditional Worker’s Party doesn’t sound right wing to me Mr Kishnevi but their organizational chart was a little top heavy.
Pinandpuller (2600a1) — 3/14/2018 @ 11:47 amKudlow? Is that name of German derivation, Miss Daisy?
Pinandpuller (2600a1) — 3/14/2018 @ 11:49 amThat cunning cunning plan
https://www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/news/powerpost/wp/2018/03/01/republican-super-pac-warns-democratic-voters-that-their-candidate-supports-gun-rights/
narciso (d1f714) — 3/14/2018 @ 11:49 amIt’s almost as if Putin is holding some extremely salacious and damaging material over President Dennison’s head.
But I can’t imagine what it could be.
Dave (445e97) — 3/14/2018 @ 11:50 amWhen can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made.
Pinandpuller (2600a1) — 3/14/2018 @ 11:53 amThat’s what he was doing, and in fact he – or somebody else – was irritated with Tillerson – for being too soft on Russia, according to the New York Times’ inside sources at the Trump White House.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/13/us/politics/trump-tillerson-pompeo.html
Sammy Finkelman (02a146) — 3/14/2018 @ 11:56 amAnd once on a time, kidlowwa in the sds at Syracuse, but he got better,
Yes he had a powder issue, which prompted him to become cathokic
narciso (d1f714) — 3/14/2018 @ 12:03 pmI imagine Trump’s response will be something like this:
“Maybe something was Put-in Sergei’s drink. Who knows!? At least Russia knows how to deal with traitors, until the United States! #ChelseaManning”
Dejectedhead (81690d) — 3/14/2018 @ 12:18 pm61 Wrong link
The correct New York Times article, which appeared today, is this:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/13/us/politics/trump-tillerson-pompeo-america-first.html
Paragraphs 31 and 32 of 34 read: (emphasis mine)
Sammy Finkelman (02a146) — 3/14/2018 @ 12:23 pmThe article also seems to indicate that the name of Mike Pompeo was brought up by Saudi Arabia and/or the United Arab Emirates, who recommended him:
Sammy Finkelman (02a146) — 3/14/2018 @ 12:26 pmBut the exact timing came because of the upcoming summit meeting with North Korea:
Sammy Finkelman (02a146) — 3/14/2018 @ 12:27 pmBut May was saying it clearly came from Russia.
Dave (445e97) — 3/14/2018 @ 12:29 pm@55. Coke and Diet Coke men, Mr. Feet.
DCSCA (797bc0) — 3/14/2018 @ 12:31 pmBowing to the Saudi King is one thing, but we’re actually letting Arab sheikhs pick our cabinet now?
This all sounds like completely implausible “alternative facts” created to ratf*ck Tillerson.
Tillerson “broke with Trump” on the Saudi/Qatar dispute because Trump farted out a tweet contradicting previously established US policy while Tillerson was overseas.
Dave (445e97) — 3/14/2018 @ 12:40 pmOne might argue that Qatar does hold a grudge after a certain kerfluffle that happened in 96, is that why they sheltered ksm in their sewer dept, till bob bar found it out. Qatar btw is where Abe mazen made his living before beconibg black septembers lead fundraiser
narciso (d1f714) — 3/14/2018 @ 12:45 pm> two losses to us
two? most historians consider the War of 1812 to be a tie.
aphrael (e0cdc9) — 3/14/2018 @ 12:46 pmTheresa May’s strategy is to get so many Tommy’s killed in a war with Russian that every guy named Mohammed gets four war widow brides.
Pinandpuller (b41a86) — 3/14/2018 @ 12:46 pmYes they had though. Invading canada, would be a ‘cakewalk’
narciso (d1f714) — 3/14/2018 @ 12:49 pm1) Leftist commie LIES.
Dave (445e97) — 3/14/2018 @ 12:52 pm2) Tie goes to the runner.
Geez Jeremy, get with the narrative.
the Bas (3bcea0) — 3/14/2018 @ 1:04 pmSo will Ms. Haley be fired next?
http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/378436-haley-blames-russia-for-poisoning-ex-spy-in-uk
Tillman (a95660) — 3/14/2018 @ 1:20 pmLooks like ConDave didn’t get the news about Rex ‘s flurry of antics as he tried to save the Iran deal. Too busy getting busy with teh poultry?
Colonel Haiku (33b771) — 3/14/2018 @ 1:30 pmRats, much like the hens you favor, will get fvcked, ConDave…
Colonel Haiku (33b771) — 3/14/2018 @ 1:32 pmThe chicken should have grounds, for a lawsuit,
So what is may prepared to do, without Russian oligarch cash, londonistan and other roundings like surrey, start to sink
narciso (d1f714) — 3/14/2018 @ 1:38 pmInfoWars exclusive?
Dave (445e97) — 3/14/2018 @ 1:40 pmAnd not merely Russians as this late gene Simmons impresssionist
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5378957/Surrey-50m-mansion-home-Sheikh-Walid-Juffali-sale.html
narciso (d1f714) — 3/14/2018 @ 1:47 pmWho chipped into red queens foundation as well as the Atlantic council
narciso (d1f714) — 3/14/2018 @ 1:49 pm“So will Ms. Haley be fired next?”
Why, do you think Tillerson ordered her to say that?
Even May didn’t make such a unequivocal statement. She said in the event it wasn’t Russia, Russia would still be culpable if they didn’t prevent anyone else from getting their hands on it. At this point, accusing Russia of doing it themselves is an unsubstantiated charge.
The way I’m reading things anyway.
the Bas (3bcea0) — 3/14/2018 @ 1:56 pmI’m also reading that Russia has asked for samples to verify the claim it is the nerve agent in question, but are being refused.
That’s interesting.
the Bas (3bcea0) — 3/14/2018 @ 1:59 pmnevertrump doesn’t need proof Mr. Bas
they use the pedophile Mitt Romney “no proof no problem” approach
happyfeet (28a91b) — 3/14/2018 @ 2:02 pmYou are bit behind developments. That’s what she said a day or two ago, while going through the motions of allowing the Russians to give an explanation.
What she said today, in the House of Commons, was unequivocal:
Dave (445e97) — 3/14/2018 @ 2:10 pmBut there are many who wouldn’t have minded Britain keeping Fort Dearborn
urbanleftbehind (ddcc04) — 3/14/2018 @ 2:13 pmAlways trust content from Russia Today…
Dave (445e97) — 3/14/2018 @ 2:15 pmI’d be surprised they are still in the country:
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/mar/14/russian-spy-poisoning-investigation-extends-dorset-town-sergei-skripal#img-1
narciso (d1f714) — 3/14/2018 @ 3:19 pmDave, no change. Note the word “culpable”.
And my source was the Sun, see comment #75.
the Bas (3bcea0) — 3/14/2018 @ 3:22 pmNiki Haley says you don’t know what you’re talking about.
Care to concede?
shipwreckedcrew (56b591) — 3/14/2018 @ 3:26 pm“Culpable” is a synonym for “guilty” and “responsible”…
You’d think they’d budget enough rubles to give these bots a minimal foundation in English vocabulary so they don’t stick out like sore thumbs. Very unimpressed by the FSB/SVB’s low standards…
Also, what part of “This represents an unlawful use of force by the Russian State against the United Kingdom” was unclear?
Dave (445e97) — 3/14/2018 @ 3:38 pm“Culpable” is a synonym for “guilty” and “responsible”…
and whose fault is that?
happyfeet (28a91b) — 3/14/2018 @ 3:40 pm“Putin is a mafia boss and only cares about what another boss has to say.”
israel (7ae4b1) — 3/14/2018 @ 3:58 pmI think he would be more concerned abt the actions taken, as opposed to words. Seriously, the uk has a gdp twice the size of russia- do you really think putin cares if some diplomats are kicked out. And will Britain actually do anything serious-especially as this has been going on for a decade
Mr. Kasparov still needs that fresh pair of panties but you can cancel the therapy dog
happyfeet (28a91b) — 3/14/2018 @ 4:03 pmI’m not sure what our action should be regarding an attack in Britain. Certainly we should be supportive of May’s actions, but the retaliation is NOT ours to make. We might point out that, had this happened here, we would view it as use of chemical weapons on US soil and react poorly indeed.
Kevin M (752a26) — 3/14/2018 @ 4:03 pmAnd, lookie there. The administration seems to have taken a reasonable line. It seems like Patterico may get that thing he hoped for.
Kevin M (752a26) — 3/14/2018 @ 4:06 pmFurther from that same Hill article:
Kevin M (752a26) — 3/14/2018 @ 4:07 pm@ConDave… #80…
Nein, Herr Putz… http://freebeacon.com/national-security/tillerson-fired-rogue-bid-save-iran-nuke-deal/
Colonel Haiku (33b771) — 3/14/2018 @ 4:09 pmI think you’re right, and I also think May’s principled but naive “we have no quarrel with the Russian people” approach isn’t very wise.
They (and we) should do everything we can to undermine his popularity, because that is the foundation of his power to harm us. If we wanted to, we could make life very inconvenient and unpleasant for his supporters (the Russian people), like it was in the last days of the USSR.
Russia is a pariah state, and should be treated as one as long as a murderous gangster is in charge.
Also, as you point out, Russia is a fundamentally weak and poor country; if they keep causing problems, they should be reminded of that fact.
Dave (445e97) — 3/14/2018 @ 4:10 pmIf May were serious, she would have embargoed Russian caviar. That would be the equivalent of “blood, sweat, and tears” for the British ruling class.
nk (dbc370) — 3/14/2018 @ 4:14 pmWhich of their anonymous sources did you find most convincing?
Dave (445e97) — 3/14/2018 @ 4:23 pmNo, they need money keeping up kensington and Chelsea and other posh burgs affloat
narciso (d1f714) — 3/14/2018 @ 4:35 pmThis was what Qatar feared:
https://mobile.twitter.com/bhweingarten/status/973962843178569728?p=v
narciso (d1f714) — 3/14/2018 @ 4:43 pmI trust the Free Beacon reporter, ConDave.
Colonel Haiku (33b771) — 3/14/2018 @ 4:53 pm@101. If May were serious, she would have embargoed Russian caviar. That would be the equivalent of “blood, sweat, and tears” for the British ruling class.
Caviar?! It’ll be a cold day at Number 10 before they get down to leaving tins of caviar on the docks. Literally. Per The Guardian in 2014, Russia’s Gazprom, the state-owned Russian energy giant, is the fourth biggest provider of natural gas to UK businesses.
DCSCA (797bc0) — 3/14/2018 @ 6:09 pmRussia is a pariah state, and should be treated as one as long as a murderous gangster is in charge.
“Now who’s being naive?”
Russia has never been ruled by nice people. Putin is a great improvement over the Communists, who were themselves improvements over the czars (who kept 99% of the population as serfs along with killing who they pleased).
Putin is a retail killer. He’s not Stalin. He doesn’t have death camps out in Siberia and people do not fear the knock in the night. What he HAS done is brought Russia back from the ruin that the Communists left and Yeltzin allowed to fester. He is a despot and ruthless, but he acts in what he sees as Russia’s interests.
Russia could do worse. It has mostly always DONE worse.
Now, that doesn’t mean that we should let him do what he pleases outside of Russia, or even inside. We have our own interests and among these are restraining Russian expansion. His attacks on “traitors” (and this guy WAS a traitor) in foreign lands have to be made costly.
But he isn’t Stalin, or Mao. He isn’t even Brezhnev. He’s just a strongman in a country that likes those.
Kevin M (752a26) — 3/14/2018 @ 6:10 pmExactly this was the way they did things in prerevolutionary days:
narciso (d1f714) — 3/14/2018 @ 6:14 pmhttps://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/books-and-monographs/okhrana-the-paris-operations-of-the-russian-imperial-police/5474-1.html
So, I saw “The Death of Stalin” the other night. I think folks here would like it. Although it is satirical and unfair, it has a great cast and shows the incredible fear that Russians had under Stalin and their difficulty getting past that when he died. Not to mention the power struggle, the players and the issues. (Spoiler: Beria is a bad guy).
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4686844
Kevin M (752a26) — 3/14/2018 @ 6:21 pmI only heard about this through Tim powers declare, they called it the rabkin then, the overseas branch of the okrana, the mystery of the soviet degringolade was little like that of wakandas wealth.
narciso (d1f714) — 3/14/2018 @ 6:21 pmAs opposed to yagoda or yezhov, its a matter of degree, not kind.
narciso (d1f714) — 3/14/2018 @ 6:25 pmHe was just the next person down the line:
http://ukemonde.com/genocide/margolisholocaust.html
narciso (d1f714) — 3/14/2018 @ 6:29 pmMaybe a mob should go down to the docks and throw the caviar into the sea.
Kevin M (752a26) — 3/14/2018 @ 6:30 pmAs Kasparov says, it doesn’t matter what “the administration” says. It matters wheat Trump himself says. Further, while a sing-song “this was written by someone else and I am reading it” statement, if we get such a thing, would be better than nothing, the only thing that will mean anything to Putin is if Trump says it himself in his own words. Which I don’t think he ever will.
Patterico (8bf811) — 3/14/2018 @ 6:35 pmFrankly, I put more weight on what the Administration says than what Trump says, since he’ll say three contradictory things before breakfast.
Kevin M (752a26) — 3/14/2018 @ 6:40 pmSo say this was a indiscriminate attack on a military installation and surrounding village, what is the proportionate response, an incursion into novgorod, bala shita (the latter is their camp pearly/ft banning)
narciso (d1f714) — 3/14/2018 @ 6:43 pm113.Maybe a mob should go down to the docks and throw the caviar into the sea.
Maybe a Siegfried should get smart and go back to the tried and true brellies w/poison pellets, instead, a la Georgi Markov.
DCSCA (797bc0) — 3/14/2018 @ 6:45 pmThat’s all I’m saying. We have tried playing nice with him for a long time. Except for maybe a brief period after 9/11, when he was still new and consolidating power, he hasn’t reciprocated. Quite the opposite.
Regardless of Trump’s debt of gratitude, exposure to blackmail, and immersion in a sea of paid Russian agents, Putin deserves the same treatment as Kim, and the Mullahs, and Assad. No business as usual while he’s attacking our allies with chemical weapons, invading and annexing neighbors, meddling in our elections and generally trying to p*ss in our borscht.
Hit back twice as hard, and make America great again.
For starters, Putin’s buddies Edward Snowden and Julian Assange can meet with unfortunate accidents. Should probably take out one or two of his mid-level capo-regimes that were implicated in the election meddling too, so he gets the message clearly.
Dave (445e97) — 3/14/2018 @ 6:47 pmWhat would Amos McCoy say about it? He played “checkies”…
Why won’t Robert Mueller – who has asked his good friend Rod Rosenstein to expand his investigation in all sorts of ways – ask to have it include investigating anything to do with Hillary Clinton?
Colonel Haiku (33b771) — 3/14/2018 @ 6:52 pmThat is the name of their spetnaz/fsb training facility.
Because he is a guided missile as rosenstein explains.
narciso (d1f714) — 3/14/2018 @ 6:58 pm@107. But he [Putin] isn’t Stalin, or Mao. He isn’t even Brezhnev. He’s just a strongman in a country that likes those.
Flotsam; a survivor clinging to the wreckage of a once proud superpower desperate to remain relevant. He’ll be dead and gone in a decade or two. It’s the Russia that emerges afterwards to plan for. They’re a proud people.
DCSCA (797bc0) — 3/14/2018 @ 7:01 pmSeems quaint now, but the first time Tillerson’s name was floated for SOS, Rush Limbaugh in his monologue for that day waxed eloquently about how incredible it was for Tillerson to be under consideration for SOS.
I was sympathetic to that view also, but later switched sides when I found Tillerson was strongly for certifying Iran was compliant. They may have been compliant but there was little for them to do other than saying, without any inspection ” we are compliant” so that is of course meaningless.
Post deal oil contracts in Iran have not met expectations so maybe Tillerson from Exxon was showing loyalty to the Oil industry so his colleagues would feel more confident about making deals in Iran?
william elbel (fd5d32) — 3/14/2018 @ 7:01 pmI mentioned bandera and konovalets, because they were American intelligence assets, back then (yes they had blood on their hands)
narciso (d1f714) — 3/14/2018 @ 7:04 pmAnd Munich was the base of operations for the fledgling German service.
So a little asset redeployment will change the mind of someone who gassed a whole theatre, to get at a half dozen Chechens, who had thw,spetnaz storm a school in belan, now who’s being naive.
narciso (d1f714) — 3/14/2018 @ 7:23 pmSo I guess Kasparov believes pompeo was also chosen by putin
Whycoh (7ae4b1) — 3/14/2018 @ 7:35 pmhttps://hotair.com/archives/2018/03/14/nikki-haley-unloads-un-russia-responsible-skripal-poisoning-much-much/amp/. But for some there will always be 3d matryoshka dolls
Whycoh (7ae4b1) — 3/14/2018 @ 7:45 pmNow, that doesn’t mean that we should let him do what he pleases outside of Russia, or even inside. We have our own interests and among these are restraining Russian expansion. His attacks on “traitors” (and this guy WAS a traitor) in foreign lands have to be made costly.
But he isn’t Stalin, or Mao. He isn’t even Brezhnev. He’s just a strongman in a country that likes those.
Kevin M (752a26) — 3/14/2018 @ 6:10 pm
It reminds me of Kong: Skull Island, which I watched last night. Too many Sam Jacksons running around here not seeing what happens if they kill Kong.
Pinandpuller (7bbd2f) — 3/14/2018 @ 7:50 pmYou know the Russians handled things in chechnya, no fancy barracks like gitmo an open pit
(Filtration centers)
https://mobile.twitter.com/drawandstrike/status/974091059620872195
narciso (d1f714) — 3/14/2018 @ 7:54 pmKevin, you overstate how bad the czars were. Mass murder, gulags, and engineered show trials were not in their repertoire. But they were despotic in ways the rest of Europe had put in the past by the mid 19th century. Putin is not as bad as the Communists who trained him but he is comparable to, say, Nikolai I.
Kishnevi (8adcb8) — 3/14/2018 @ 8:07 pmOr Alexander 111:
https://providencemag.com/2018/03/uk-target-russian-spies-assassination-attempt-yulia-sergei-skripal/
narciso (d1f714) — 3/14/2018 @ 8:08 pmAnd yet he is the guy in charge.
If he never personally opens his mouth to condemn Putin in his own words — and I am predicting he won’t — that tells Putin a lot.
Patterico (115b1f) — 3/14/2018 @ 8:53 pmThe thread above suggested a real response sort of like the beat down, wager corps got in deir Er sour, some weeks ago
http://powerlineblog.com/archives/2018/03/gina-haspel-tom-cottons-take.php
narciso (d1f714) — 3/14/2018 @ 8:58 pmI’m not sure there’s much space between Putin and Brezhnev when it comes to morality. Putin is hale and far more energetic, which makes him arguably worse.
From what I’ve been reading in the excellent Pursuit of Power (Patterico-friendly Amazon link!), the 19th Century Czars (even the highly reactionary ones) preserved some conception of honor that Putin and his Communist progenitors lack entirely.
Dave (445e97) — 3/14/2018 @ 9:06 pmAbout what I suspected:
narciso (d1f714) — 3/14/2018 @ 9:08 pmhttp://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5501599/Had-poisoned-New-CCTV-shows-Sergei-Skripals-car.html
Sergei Viktorovich Skripal (Russian: Серге́й Ви́кторович Скрипаль, IPA: [sʲɪrˈɡʲej ˈvʲiktərəvʲɪtɕ skrʲɪˈpalʲ], born 23 June 1951) is a former Russian military intelligence officer who acted as a double agent for the UK’s intelligence services during the 1990s and early 2000s.[4] In December 2004, he was arrested by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) and later tried, convicted of high treason, and imprisoned. He settled in the UK in 2010 following the Illegals Program spy swap.
On 4 March 2018, Skripal and his daughter Yulia, who was visiting from Moscow, were poisoned with a nerve agent.[5] As of 9 March 2018,[6] they remain in a critical condition at Salisbury District Hospital.[7][8] The poisoning is being investigated as an attempted murder.[5] Shortly after the incident, the Russian government said they had no information as to Sergei Skripal′s nationality;[9][10] British police said he was a British citizen.[11]
His daughter visiting from Moscow was the vector. The poison used must have been diluted since it’s some kind of designer poison, 5 to 8 times more potent than VX, that can be delivered as a liquid, aerosol, powder or gas. I’m guessing it was secreted on her luggage. Maybe in a cosmetic.
SO it’s entirely possible there was no crime committed on UK soil. The crime was committed in Moscow. Maybe at the airport.
papertiger (c8116c) — 3/14/2018 @ 9:24 pmIt is not.
Patterico (115b1f) — 3/14/2018 @ 9:26 pmThat seems improbable tiger, more people would have gotten sick on the plane, more than likely the perpetrators are out of the country, this is what they call ‘wet work’ carried out by the ‘illegals’ division, what we call none official cover.
narciso (d1f714) — 3/14/2018 @ 9:30 pmThis guy Sergei Skripal was the Russian version of Ed Snowden.
papertiger (c8116c) — 3/14/2018 @ 9:32 pmKevin, you overstate how bad the czars were. Mass murder, gulags, and engineered show trials were not in their repertoire. But they were despotic in ways the rest of Europe had put in the past by the mid 19th century. Putin is not as bad as the Communists who trained him but he is comparable to, say, Nikolai I.
It is hard to compare keeping the vast majority of the population as slaves into the 20th century with mass murderers a few decades later. Nikolai I had 50 million slaves. I may put more weight on that than you do, particularly as the 19th century progresses.
Kevin M (752a26) — 3/14/2018 @ 9:36 pmWhy? This Novichok agent is special made to be discrete. Only a policeman investigating the Skripal apartment was affected as spill over.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novichok_agent
papertiger (c8116c) — 3/14/2018 @ 9:38 pmHe had it coming! suggests the Trump fan.
Patterico (115b1f) — 3/14/2018 @ 9:38 pmDave,
Brezhnev had a totalitarian state that ran every enterprise, sold every chicken and generally controlled every last person and thing.
Putin has no such apparatus. It’s the difference between “authoritarian” and “totalitarian”. Putin has far fewer minions.
Kevin M (752a26) — 3/14/2018 @ 9:40 pmPutin has no compunction about one life or a dozen or 300 if you subscribe to ryazan, as you’ve suggested in the past, in fact the soviet’s coined many phrases the most relevant is ‘shmert spionem’
narciso (d1f714) — 3/14/2018 @ 9:42 pmQuestion: If fugitives Klaus Fuchs or Kim Philby had been killed by pissed-off US or British agents, would that be wrong? Why, exactly? Is Obama a monster for ordering drone strikes on US persons overseas?
Kevin M (752a26) — 3/14/2018 @ 9:43 pmI did consider telling Putin that he could have earned himself a Nobel Peace Prize if he had simply done this by drone.
Patterico (115b1f) — 3/14/2018 @ 9:46 pmEthically, no, practically its not done there are exceptions like Dan mitrione who was training Uruguayan military, there were some soviet operatives in Argentina, but its two easy to escalate. The wrath of god operation against black September was in that same vein.
narciso (d1f714) — 3/14/2018 @ 9:48 pmHere you go. The original SMERSH, a contraction of Smert Shpionam (death to spies) formed and named by Stalin in WWII. https://www.globalsecurity.org/intell/world/russia/smersh.htm
nk (dbc370) — 3/14/2018 @ 9:49 pmMurder is always wrong. Murder by stealth wronger.
nk (dbc370) — 3/14/2018 @ 9:53 pmYes I was going by memory, plochy has the low down on the operations again on officials, and where it ended up.
narciso (d1f714) — 3/14/2018 @ 9:55 pmThat’s a cheap shot. He was a former Russian intelligence officer, convicted in a court of law and sentenced to 15 years for espionage. These are facts reported in the Wikipedia. That makes him the equivalent of Snowden.
Obama swapped a bunch of Russian spys for this guy. Remember Anna Chapman? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Chapman
They got their playboy model back; we got Sergei and a TV drama starring Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys.
I’m not saying Skirple deserved it (and if you remember I think of Snowden as a sort of hero, and the NSA as the antichrist).
He damn well should have expected it though.
papertiger (c8116c) — 3/14/2018 @ 10:05 pmI did not remember that, and if that’s your view then my comment was indeed unfair, and I retract it and apologize.
Patterico (115b1f) — 3/14/2018 @ 10:07 pmWhich is not to say that I agree with you about Snowden. I don’t.
Patterico (115b1f) — 3/14/2018 @ 10:07 pmIts an exceedingly odd to still think Snowden in that way. Hes an abject lesson along with reality winner at the absurd mindset of some cogs in the ayatem.
narciso (d1f714) — 3/14/2018 @ 10:10 pmRussian serfs owned by the state were freed in 1866. Privately owned serfs were freed in 1861. While the former serfs (like freed slaves in the US around the same time) of course had a period of adjustment, I don’t think the vast majority of the population were slaves into the 20th century.
Putin’s system is more efficient yes. And you’re correct that property rights make the present Russian system more humane in important ways, although the Soviet economic system wasn’t Brezhnev’s personal creation, any more than the current Russian economy is Putin’s.
I was thinking more of the leaders’ attitudes toward the rule of law, sanctity of life and dissent, though.
Dave (445e97) — 3/14/2018 @ 10:25 pmI believe we should dismantle the NSA as a gross violation of the 4th amendment, the building it’s housed in buldozed. The ground it stood on salted.
Would have saved Obama from committing a whole lot of mischieve.
papertiger (c8116c) — 3/14/2018 @ 10:26 pmIs it part of the understanding, when spies are exchanged, that they are fair game for later assassination?
I would have thought the opposite was true – that the exchanged spies are granted the equivalent of an amnesty for the acts that resulted in their original detainment, apart from being persona non grata in the territory of the side releasing them.
Dave (445e97) — 3/14/2018 @ 10:35 pmThis seems a weird way to assassinate someone. Smearing a nerve agent, traceable to its origin, on a car door? Kinda sloppy and dumb. I mean, there’s way more discrete poisons, easier to handle and just as deadly. Someone went to a lot of bother doing this. Looks to me like either Putin was sending a message, or is being framed.
I know most would find the second option unthinkable, but then on the other hand Hillary tried to pin her loss on the Russians. Not that I’m implicating her, but it does occurs to me the Ukraine was part of the USSR, possible access, and has motive to draw NATO into their troubles.
Maybe I’m just getting cynical about the whole Russian thing. There’s a lot of energy being put into making Russia the world’s bad guy, when they are pretty far down the list of bad actors that are a threat to the west.
Just my 2 cents.
the Bas (3bcea0) — 3/14/2018 @ 10:47 pmThe thing that’s puzzling is the Russians had Sergei Skripal bagged, tagged, with detailed confession given, tried and convicted appeals heard and denied, in prison for 15 years by military tribunal.
No firing squad. So… that suggests his case wasn’t a life and death issue.
Why all of a sudden did the Russians do the u-turn?
Skripal’s wife has recently passed away from natural causes. Skripal’s daughter, who still resides in Russia, recently lost her husband under more shady circumstances.
Could they have suicided?
papertiger (c8116c) — 3/14/2018 @ 10:54 pmRight, well, there are easier ways to kill someone than poisoning their tea with radioactive Polonium too, but that didn’t stop them.
I think the horror of the methods and the unmistakable origin is probably a part of the message.
Dave (445e97) — 3/14/2018 @ 11:20 pmWhen has relying on British Intelligence EVER gone well for the US? When have the British not been eager hos for liberal motivated reasoners from Keynes to Kanye? Why should we ELEVATE THE DISCOURSE to war-level over what’s effectively spy-vs-spy skirmishing of the type that goes on all the time, with normal governments preferring to bilaterally disavow and privately honor their covert agents in the field?
Especially now, when Britain has effectively turned itself into the 1984 police state in all but name? Free speech is effectively banned there, so what sort of ‘vetting’ could you possibly trust from the nation that gave us Tony Blair and Christopher Steele? Why would you do anything OTHER than send vague, Sphinx-like assurances to these half-mad telly-watching universal opportunists?
Nothing about the way this event is being handled by the usual suspects on the left side convinces me that it’s anything other than RAH RAH RUSSIAN WAR RAH RAH by exactly the sorts who use war’s chaos to first burn all prior documents incriminating themselves. Just as they couldn’t get American intelligence to sign off on sketchy Russian collusion evidence themselves, preferring to have it outsourced to British fabulists, they’re outsourcing the casus belli for Russian war away from the American military to the a leader so ineffectual she STILL can’t get Brexit implemented properly.
And you’re telling me to take THESE people seriously? When we came so close to having their sympathizers and syncophants in control of OUR country? No! Compared to ANYONE ruling Britain currently, Trump is always right, and you should defend every action he takes on the principle of at least he’s not the British.
Tellurian (a3c41a) — 3/15/2018 @ 12:43 am160. When has relying on British Intelligence EVER gone well for the US?
=yawn=
British spies were first to spot Trump team’s links with Russia
Britain’s spy agencies played a crucial role in alerting their counterparts in Washington to contacts between members of Donald Trump’s campaign team and Russian intelligence operatives, the Guardian has been told.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/apr/13/british-spies-first-to-spot-trump-team-links-russia
DCSCA (797bc0) — 3/15/2018 @ 1:29 am
Rev.Hoagie (1b0402) — 3/15/2018 @ 2:27 amThere is something so American in that statement all I can do is smile.
Hahahaha. DCSCA is using a leftist Brit paper to support a leftist Brit lie. I love it. Why not quote Rolling Stone?
Rev.Hoagie (1b0402) — 3/15/2018 @ 2:29 amthat the exchanged spies are granted the equivalent of an amnesty
Well, yes. And Kim Philby was just such. It’s not so much amnesty but a mutual pact against that form of dirty war.
I will point out that Putin OPENLY disavows such an amnesty, saying state traitors should expect “justice.” If someone were to jab Mr Snowden with a ricin-coated knitting needle it would be fair play by Putin’s rules.
Kevin M (752a26) — 3/15/2018 @ 2:48 amAnother view of the situation. All eyes now on Patterico:
“The Red Line shoe is now on the other foot. By issuing a warning against infringing his freedom of action Putin has drawn a Red Line and Haley just threatened to cross it in the most public possible way. Radio Free Europe writes “the United States has said it is ready to act in Syria to end chemical attacks and “inhuman suffering” if Russia, Iran, and Syria continue to allegedly ignore a 30-day cease-fire approved by the United Nations, prompting a warning from Moscow that it will strike back if the lives of its servicemen are threatened”.
What Russia will do when the clock counts down remains to be seen. The US threat is both asymmetric and strategically calculating. The US has power dominance over Russia in Syria. In almost any scenario except the use of nuclear weapons or nerve gas, Russia is likely to be badly worsted in Syria. Striking at Assad and Iran will be supported by Saudi Arabia and Israel.
It is dangerous but also profoundly psychological. Vladimir Putin has now been threatened twice by women, Theresa May and Nikki Haley, even as stands for election as the Macho Man. The Kremlin strongman can hardly back down now without immense loss of face, which is perhaps the point. Putin is in a tight spot. He can either eat crow or roll the dice. His first reaction in past situations has been not to yield but double down. This will make the next two weeks extraordinarily dangerous. It’s a big data point. The administration has taken the risk.”
https://pjmedia.com/richardfernandez/fourteen-days/
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 3/15/2018 @ 4:23 amWhat’s all this then, ASPCA!?!?
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 3/15/2018 @ 4:24 amWhy per your and Kasparov would it even matter what Trump says? Isn’t he already in the bag for putin. Hiring and firing based on his wants?
Whycoh (7ae4b1) — 3/15/2018 @ 4:33 am157, yes the world’s great white defendant, the title transitioning from apartheid South Africa.
urbanleftbehind (ddcc04) — 3/15/2018 @ 5:08 amMan these conspiracies draw you in. If putin only cares what Trump says why would he have tillerson fired?
Whycoh (7ae4b1) — 3/15/2018 @ 5:16 amIf true, Sessionszzzzz must go! https://www.nationalreview.com/2017/06/jeff-sessions-recusal-unnecessary/
Colonel Haiku (33b771) — 3/15/2018 @ 6:04 amI don’t know if he should go, but I also thought his withdrawal was premature. Worse than that, it was because of pressure from Al Franken. Sessions’s response at the time should have been that there are laws and DOJ rules regarding recusal in particular cases, and he would take advice on the matter from DOJ’s attorneys, the Office of Special Counsel and the Inspector General (optional: and not some comedian).
nk (dbc370) — 3/15/2018 @ 6:27 amIt’s the same trick comey pulled on Ashcroft, its,like we don’t learn anything in 14 years
narciso (d1f714) — 3/15/2018 @ 7:22 amAnd as I pointed out, the Soviets under andropov didn’t observe these rules, one might say wadi haddad taking out the meloy in Beirut was more typical.
narciso (d1f714) — 3/15/2018 @ 7:25 amTellurian’s a funny fellow, eh?:
Quite-like he’s talking about Trump himself!
Q! (86710c) — 3/15/2018 @ 7:33 amAmbassador meloy 1975, haddad was kgb, arafat was gru.
narciso (d1f714) — 3/15/2018 @ 7:36 amThe nsa was a product of the cold war, from comint, like gchq from Bletchley park.
narciso (d1f714) — 3/15/2018 @ 7:42 amSome random driveby named Tellurian wrote (#160)(boldface omitted, incredibly enough):
But it’s definitely not a personality cult. Nope, no way. But yeah, by every action, that includes screwing porn stars while your wife is recovering from childbirth. Defend him!
My God, the lickspittledom in that! This is worse than the worst Obama-worship I’ve ever seen. I can’t think of a more un-American statement than this, actually. This is right up with the Dear Leader-worship of the Norks — just as pathetic, just as dangerous, just as brainless, and just as disgusting.
Beldar (fa637a) — 3/15/2018 @ 7:50 amWell Mays previous record at the home office is not encouraging Boris is more so, on balance.
narciso (d1f714) — 3/15/2018 @ 7:55 amAsk steven scalier how he was targeted and the accessories Durbin and Duckworth skate.
narciso (d1f714) — 3/15/2018 @ 8:01 amApropos of nothing:
http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2018/03/15/secret-empire-joe-biden-john-kerry-billion-dollar-deal-chinese-government/
narciso (d1f714) — 3/15/2018 @ 8:05 amWhen is the last time the boys had good intelligence, oh right the saudi asset Brennan burned?
narciso (d1f714) — 3/15/2018 @ 8:17 am— Cpl. Haiku
Beldar (fa637a) — 3/15/2018 @ 8:33 amRandom drivebys define personality cults.
BuDuh (fc15db) — 3/15/2018 @ 8:55 amAnd here’s the weak-kneed response we’ve all been expecting:
“It certainly looks like the Russians were behind it”
Dave (445e97) — 3/15/2018 @ 9:01 amIf one subscribes to the idea that Putin engineered ryazan, some of politskayava’s conjectures about nord ost and beslan, then may is very near beer, and one might have to go harry palmer in some instances
narciso (d1f714) — 3/15/2018 @ 9:02 amPresident Trump wisely understands you have to take the conclusions from coward-ass lickspittle intelligence agencies like the CIA with a grain of salt
happyfeet (28a91b) — 3/15/2018 @ 9:14 amAs usual what hasbeen bandied about under the guise of intelligence was an obscene joke, like Manchester Westminster parson tube:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/03/15/salisbury-poisoning-nerve-agent-feared-have-spread-police-officer/
narciso (d1f714) — 3/15/2018 @ 9:15 am@Beldar #182… lawyers add unnecessary expense and pain to nearly every facet of modern life. But where would we be without them?
Probably having gunfights in the streets…
Colonel Haiku (33b771) — 3/15/2018 @ 9:28 amDeath to the #NeverTrump demons!!!
Colonel Haiku (33b771) — 3/15/2018 @ 9:29 am@163 Rev Hoagie
You can’t always get what you want.
Pinandpuller (916c3f) — 3/15/2018 @ 9:34 amBen wittless does get increasingly silly.
narciso (d1f714) — 3/15/2018 @ 9:35 amDefending every action of someone I’m not married to is a big ask. Even then . But I’ve seen real crazy, like road rage by proxy from the passenger seat while I’m the one driving. Trump ain’t that kind of crazy.
If anything it’s Mueller and associates trying to grab the wheel.
Pinandpuller (916c3f) — 3/15/2018 @ 9:45 am@163. British spy agency warned CIA of Trump ties to Russia …
https://www.businessinsider.com/british-spy-agency-trump-russia-ties-2017-4
Report: British spies first spotted Trump-Russia links….
http://www.thehill.com; http://www.cnn.com... etc., etc.
HaHaHaHaHa…
DCSCA (797bc0) — 3/15/2018 @ 11:45 amSame people, its called an echo chamber the head of ghcq took early retirement after the first report.
narciso (d1f714) — 3/15/2018 @ 11:48 am“…half-mad t̲e̲l̲l̲y̲-̲w̲a̲t̲c̲h̲i̲n̲g̲ universal opportunists. . .
Quite-like he’s talking about Trump himself!”
CNN and Fox are pretty bad, but they have nothing on the execrable drivel from the licensed agencies.
And Trump is, as we all know, an ABSOLUTE, not a partial madman.
Dysphoria Sam (a3c41a) — 3/15/2018 @ 12:59 pm