Full statement by Alexander Litvinenko (former KGB spy)

CNN ^

[quesney]

[...]

You may succeed in silencing me but that silence comes at a price. You have shown yourself to be as barbaric and ruthless as your most hostile critics have claimed.

You have shown yourself to have no respect for life, liberty or any civilized value. You have shown yourself to be unworthy of your office, to be unworthy of the trust of civilized men and women.

You may succeed in silencing one man but the howl of protest from around the world will reverberate, Mr. Putin, in your ears for the rest of your life.

May God forgive you for what you have done, not only to me but to beloved Russia and its people.

[advertising guy]

and them was dying words too.

[micho]

Putin has been emerging as a villian for the past few yrs. This confirms it. The statement from a dying man, who has no reason to lie.

I hope Putin realizes he is going to rot in hell!

[RusIvan]

May God forgive you for what you have done, not only to me but to beloved Russia and its people.==

"Beloved Russia and its people" whom he defected and traited.

[NonValueAdded]

Actually, there are plenty of reasons for him to lie but that doesn't mean his dying declaration was not true. Litvinenko could be seeking revenge for past grievances, he might be seeking retribution beyond the grave, assuming Putin ordered his death, any number of similar reasons might prompt such a statement. And if neither one believes in God, rotting in hell isn't part of their calculus. Isn't that the underpinning of giving special weight to the "dying declaration?" Beware the self-reference criterion.

BTW, who was the spy who leaked The Swimmer's treasonous behavior during the Reagan years? Let's not assume Putin was the only one who might want a cold-war relic silenced. To have the victim then implicate another target would be part of such a dirty trick.

[MeanFreePath]

This can't be. I mean, Bush looked into his soul and all...

[GretchenM]

Pull quote: "He also managed a joke at his own expense, suggesting that his poisoning was proof that his campaign against the Kremlin had targeted the right people. “This is what it takes to prove one has been telling the truth,” he said. He was referring to allegations he made in a book, The FSB Blows up Russia, which accuses the Russian security services of causing a series of apartment block explosions in Moscow in 1999 that helped to propel Vladimir Putin into the presidency the next year."

[Jeff Head]

No...it seems he was defecting and betraying what he considered to be a corrupt government...much different than betraying the people he felt that government itself was betraying.

[fishtank]

What do you think he should have done instead?

[gusopol3]

if it was this polonium that killed him, who would have access to it more readily than the people you are defending here? It's a smoking gun with Putin's fingerprints all over it.

[RusIvan]

No...it seems he was defecting and betraying what he considered to be a corrupt government...much different than betraying the people he felt that government itself was betraying.==

If it concern soviet goverment I agree with you. But russian goverment is elected by those people. So betray it you betray people. Same like in United States. How it sounds if some american defector will tell that it was teh corrupt american goverment he defected?

[gilor]

It's amazing how people who thought Russia and the US were friends are shocked by this.

[RusIvan]

if it was this polonium that killed him, who would have access to it more readily than the people you are defending here?==

Is it only Russia who produce polonuim-210? I far as I know it is used in many types of western-made devices.

It's a smoking gun with Putin's fingerprints all over it.==

Again the death of that man is more damaging for Putin then his life. It is matter of motive. Putin isn't stupid to do things which is not in his benefit.
You just should think who is benefiting form that scandal. It will be the orderer.

[gusopol3]

Putin says there's nothing to suspect it wasn't a natural death--this prior to the release of the polonium info as I read it. It looks like the hit went bad and the guy lingered in a way to raise suspicions. The next death you read about will be the hit man who blew it.

[GoLightly]

How it sounds if some american defector will tell that it was teh corrupt american goverment he defected?

If you've been paying attention, it happens all of the time here. America wouldn't be America if we weren't constantly flinging mud at each other. It doesn't alway keep the corruption out of our government, but without all of the noise it would be worse.

[Jeff Head]

Even elected governments can be corrupted. There have been many times during our long history when patriots have stood up to governmental actions which were out of control and betrayed the public interest. It appears that this may be a case where the same is occurring in Russia.

Is that a possibility?

If the man was a traitor and criminal as you indicate, then why not arrest him and bring him up on specific, lawful charges? How did this radioactive poisoning get into his system? Such a poison is not available to common criminals or even terrorists. It sounds like a state sponsored hit.

[KantianBurke]

LOL! Good catch though the bots won't be happy to have that bit of Bush "wisdom" repeated :>

[DTA]

Misleading title. Litvinenko was not a KGB spy, he was a Colonel in interal Security.

It is like calling former FBI "a CIA spy". Adds mystique but lacks substance.

More interesting is Litvinenko's link to Soros.

[RobRoy]

>>corrupt government<<

Gee, calling any government corrupt is like calling the Pope Catholic.

We get a stolen Governors election in washington, my son sees the corruption every time he gets his I-pass bill on his credit card. And on and on to REAL corruption.

There really IS nothing to see here that wasn't already painfully obvious - and apparently totally acceptable.