Jul 26 2007

UK’s Litvinenko Charade Continues To Fall Apart

The UK is on some kind of strange PR stunt over the Litvinenko case – either that or their intelligence assets just aren’t as good as one would think. The UK tried to bolster the Litvinenko assassination angle by having Litivinenko’s boss, Boris Berezovsky, come out recently in the media and claim another assassin was sent to kill him. It was a B-movie level script because the story has it this perported assassin was arrested, detained and then deported to Russia. Nothing else. It would seem, if the UK had a Russian assassin in their hands, they would exploit the situation more in the media. But they did not say a word to bolster their case. They followed up after Berezovsky shopped the story around.

But no way would the UK simply deport this assassin and NOT make a big case of this incident to Russia. You would think even in private someone would say something like “Russia, we detected your assassin, we deported him, and we can prove it because this is his name”. Apparently someone forgot to add that scene to this Soap Opera\’s storyline:

n the latest measure of the rapidly deteriorating relations between the two countries, the British ambassador to Moscow, Tony Brenton, was ordered to provide an “official explanation”, according to the Russian foreign ministry.

“He was told that the Russian side expects an official explanation about the recent reports in the British media about a person of Russian origin who was supposedly arrested in London on suspicion of planning to kill B. Berezovsky,” a statement said.

The man was arrested on June 21 on suspicion of conspiring to murder Mr Berezovsky, the billionaire oligarch who has been a ferocious critic of the Russian president, Vladimir Putin.
The suspect was handed over to immigration officials two days later and it is understood that his visa was revoked before he was deported and he was banned from returning to the UK for 10 years.

But no word of this to Russia? No pulling the Russian ambassador downtown to read him the riot act for this infraction of UK’s soveriegnty? Gimme a break!

This smells of an elaborate game. There are of course other explanations, and this could all be the results of two totally inept governments trying to shift blame to the other. But I cannot fathom to world-class powers like Russia and the UK being this clumsy. This game is as lame as the assassination theory. How just hope it bears its fruit soon enough. Of course we may never know the truth – and maybe that is the goal of all this in the end?

13 responses so far

13 Responses to “UK’s Litvinenko Charade Continues To Fall Apart”

  1. crosspatch says:

    “Of course we may never know the truth – and maybe that is the goal of all this in the end?”

    Quite possibly. None of this really makes any sense. Conspiracy to commit murder is a pretty heavy crime. It generally results more in a visa revocation and a 10 year ban from a country. Punishment like that is generally meted out to smugglers and other petty criminals.

  2. Soothsayer says:

    Speaking of charades that are falling apart; it appears White House invocation of executive privilege in the Pat Tillman case is related to the fact that Tillman may have been murdered for his anti-Iraq War statements.

    Sounds loony – I know – BUT: New Documents indicate San Francisco Army medical examiners were suspicious about the close proximity of the three bullet holes in Pat Tillman’s forehead and tried without success to get authorities to investigate whether the former NFL player’s death amounted to a crime, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press.

    “The medical evidence did not match up with the, with the scenario as described,” a doctor who examined Tillman’s body after he was killed on the battlefield in Afghanistan in 2004 told investigators.

    The doctors — whose names were blacked out — said that the bullet holes were so close together that it appeared the Army Ranger was cut down by an M-16 fired from a mere 10 yards or so away.

    Ultimately, the Pentagon did conduct a criminal investigation, and asked Tillman’s comrades whether he was disliked by his men and whether they had any reason to believe he was deliberately killed.

    They’ve got e-mails between Army lawyers congratulating each other for deflecting a murder investigation. From the git-go, the Tillman incident has been nothing but lies, damned lies and statistics.

    Heckuva job, George.

  3. Christoph says:

    Soothsayer, the disgusting thing about your comment is the glee in which you deliver it.

    If true, it’s bloody sad and outrageous. Legitimate anger is appropriate.

    But not fucking glee. And flippancy.

  4. Soothsayer says:

    Apparently you can’t tell “glee” from outrage. But then not being able to tell your a** from your elbow appears to be par for your course . . .

  5. crosspatch says:

    The three bullets are fairly easy to explain. Military weapons have a setting where they can deliver a three-round burst of automatic fire when the trigger is pulled. The three bullets would have been fired in less than a second in one trigger-pull. All it would take is ONE mistaken trigger pull to deliver three rounds to its target and all three of these rounds would be in a tight pattern when delivered by a well-trained marksman as Special Forces soldiers are.

    Civilians not familiar with the operation of modern military weapons might read something in to the three rounds in close proximity that isn’t really there. The fact that the rounds are in the forehead indicates he possibly popped his head up just as a comrade was firing.

  6. crosspatch says:

    But what interests me most is why sooth says “helluva job George” concerning actions by individuals in the field in Afghanistan. The high ranking officers involved received most of their training and experience under the Clinton administration.

    I don’t recall any feelings by anyone of any ill will towards Tillman before his death. When he died there was an outpouring of sorrow and he was treated as a fallen hero, not as some whiner who got his due. If something like that happened to “Scott Thomas” you might see a different reaction from the people.

    I believe the Tillman incident was a tragic accident. I believe people held off in reporting how he died until they knew for absolute certain exactly how he was killed. I do believe charges against some of the higher ups are warranted for delaying the release of the correct information after it was known to them but I don’t blame them for wanting to be certain before saying anything.

  7. Soothsayer says:

    Nice try, Crosspatch, but your explanations don’t hold water.

    1. The official army story is that Tillman and his group were hundreds of yards across a ravine or ridge from the group that initiated the friendly fire – and that Tillman was yelling at them to cease fire.

    2. The shots came from 30 feet away. How does one misidentify a comrade 30 feet away – unless you’re Dick Cheney?

    3. The medical examiners asked for a homicide investigation – but it was repeatedly denied.

    4. There are e-mails in which Army lawyers congratulate themselves for deflecting the homicide investigation.

    5. I included George because the White House has invoked executive privilege to keep Congress from seeing internal documents on the shooting. What conceivable valid reason can there be for hiding the truth from the light of day??

  8. crosspatch says:

    The distance estimate is an estimation by people far removed from the event, it is speculation. You can not tell by looking at a wound that the gun was 30 feet or 50 feet or 100 feet away. That is speculation.

    What I posted about the automatic 3 rounds with one trigger pull is verifiable fact, not a “try”.

    Nice thread hijacking, Sooth

  9. ivehadit says:

    The Kos Kids are downright paranoid. And anything that comes out of their mouths is a compliment, as far as I am concerned. Don’t want to be like them one iota.

  10. crosspatch says:

    I think this is why they are so paranoid.

  11. crosspatch says:

    IVEHADIT:

    Unlike the Kos kiddies or Sooth, I have actually served in the military. First of all, all GIs gripe. It’s second nature. The two best assignments in the military are the one you came from and the one you are going to. Where you are always sucks (or it did when I was in). If Tillman was so outspoken against it, it would have been no problem to assign him to some motor pool in North Carolina forever. But I never got that sense. He gave up a football career and volunteered. If he was such a problem with unit morale that people were at risk of shooting him, he would have been reassigned. The notion that anyone way up in Washington DC intentionally ordered one specific person shot is actually pretty silly when you think about it. It would have been much easier to simply have him patrolling barren wasteland in Alaska until his tour was up. And it really wouldn’t matter what he had to say, either, because had he come out all negative, it would be taken as sour grapes or attention hogging and nobody that mattered would pay much attention to it anyway.

    To suppose that because he was critical that he would be shot means that if any complaints he had carried any merit, there should be dozens of others with the same message. Shooting one wouldn’t really make any difference. Instead we are seeing record re-enlistment rates, people volunteering for multiple tours, and overall retention in the services is outstanding.

    The entire notion is just plain stupid. In small team operations like Special Forces engage in, you don’t go killing one of your own under fire because it puts your own ass at risk. Notwithstanding the fact that Kos and associates don’t exactly have a sterling reputation for accuracy, if you are worried about what someone is going to say, there are a thousand other ways to remove them from the area without shooting them. The concept that someone in the White House wanted a specific soldier killed for something they might say is comedy. That thesis is an act of desperation by a group of political hacks that are suddenly realizing their worst nightmare come true … success in the war on terrorists.

  12. crosspatch says:

    Oh, heh, guess what, Sooth … Kos and Co. and disavowing that diary entry that speculated that Tillman was shot. They are now claiming that it was “planted” there by conservative bloggers to make them look bad. In other words, Kos understands how completely stupid the notion is.

    Sooth, before you go jumping onto bandwagons, ask where it is going and maybe apply the 48 hour rule … see if it still has “legs” after 48 hours. Now you stand there with egg on your face for jumping on the bandwagon of support for an idea so silly that everyone else has now abandoned it.

    UPDATE at 7/28/07 7:45:36 am:

    The Kos Kidz who are commenting on this ugly diary seem to have come to a consensus—it was planted by “LGFers” to make them look bad.

    They see a conspiracy in everything. First it was a conspiracy to kill Tillman, now it is a conspiracy to create the appearance of a conspiracy to kill Tillman. I say it is a conspiracy to create the appearance that someone is conspiring to create the appearance of someone conspiring to kill Tillman in order to cover up the sheer stupidity of the idea. The twists and turns have no end when you are dealing with people who have little else to do than get stoned and type on the computer all day.

  13. crosspatch says:

    “that Tillman was shot”

    That Tillman was shot on orders from the White House that is.