Posted on 03/13/2018 12:29:17 PM PDT by Kaslin
On March 4th, Russian defector and former British intelligence source Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found slumped over on a bench in the city center of Salisbury, clearly in distress. As first responders quickly discovered, the Skripals had been poisoned with a potentially deadly nerve agent.
But the damage was not limited just to them. Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey, one of the first officers to respond to the scene, also fell ill and was hospitalized after being exposed to the nerve agent. Furthermore, hundreds of local residents in the small Southern English town who came into contact with the Skripals or the restaurant and pub that they had been in that day had to decontaminate their belongings to prevent potential poisonings.
After two weeks of investigation, with the Skripals still in critical condition, the British government now firmly believes that the Kremlin is responsible for the attack. This is due in large part to the findings of investigators who have concluded that the Skripals were poisoned with a Soviet-developed nerve agent known as Novichok.
On Monday, Prime Minister Theresa May spoke to the British Parliament to publicly demand an explanation from the Russian government for the poisoning [emphasis mine]:
It is now clear that Mr. Skripal and his daughter were poisoned with a military grade nerve agent of a type developed by Russia. This is part of a group of nerve agents known as Novichok. Based on the positive identification of this chemical agent by world leading experts at the Defense Science and Technology Laboratory at Porton Down, our knowledge that Russia has previously produced this agent and would still be capable of doing so, Russias record of conducting state-sponsored assassinations, and our assessment that Russia views some defectors as legitimate targets for assassinations, the government has concluded that it is highly likely that Russia was responsible for the act against Sergei and Yulia Skripal.
Mr. Speaker, there are therefore only two plausible explanations for what happened in Salisbury on the 4th of March. Either this was a direct act by the Russian state against our country, or the Russian government lost control of its potentially catastrophically damaging nerve agent and allowed it to get into the hands of others.
This afternoon, my right honorable friend the foreign secretary has summoned the Russian ambassador to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and asked him to explain which of these two possibilities it is, and therefore to account for how this Russian-produced nerve agent could have been deployed in Salisbury against Mr. Skripal and his daughter.
"My right honorable friend has stated to the ambassador that the Russian Federation must immediately provide full and complete disclosure of the Novichok program to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, and he has requested the Russian governments response by the end of tomorrow.
May went on to link the attempted assassination of the Skripals with Russias aggressive foreign policy under President Putin, including its 2014 annexation of Crimea and subsequent support for rebels in Eastern Ukraine and the 2006 assassination of former FSB agent Alexander Litvinenko in London. Vowing that harsh measures would be imposed on Russia for failing to cooperate with British authorities investigating the poisoning, May closed her remarks by re-iterating the point that her government sees the poisoning as an attack not just against the Skripals, but the United Kingdom as a whole [emphasis mine]:
On Wednesday, we will consider in detail the response from the Russian state. Should there be no credible response, we will conclude that this action amounts to an unlawful use of force by the Russian state against the United Kingdom. And I will come back to this House and set out the full range of measures that we will take in response. Mr. Speaker, this attempted murder using a weapons-grade nerve agent in a British town was not just a crime against the Skripals. It was an indiscriminate and reckless act against the United Kingdom, putting the lives of innocent civilians at risk, and we will not tolerate such a brazen attempt to murder innocent civilians on our soil.
On Tuesday, British foreign secretary Boris Johnson confirmed Mays ultimatum and stressed his appreciation for those that have spoken out against Russia in light of the attempted assassination, including now-outgoing U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson:
What were doing today is giving Russia until midnight tonight to explain how it came to be that Novichok was used on the streets of Wiltshire. If they can come up with a convincing explanation, and obviously we will want to see full disclosure of that to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in The Hague. If not, then clearly we will want to be announcing the UK response, and that will come tomorrow.
In the meantime, what weve been doing is talking to friends and partners, explaining what we see as the high likelihood of Russian state agency. And Ive been very encouraged so far by the strength of the support that we are getting, I think in particular from President Macron of France, from -- I just talked to Sigmar Gabriel, my German counterpart, and from Washington, where Rex Tillerson last night made it absolutely clear that he sees this as part of a pattern of disruptive behavior, and increasingly disruptive behavior, malign behavior by Russia.
"The reckless use of chemical weapons -- a support for the reckless use of chemical weapons that stretches from Syria now to the streets of Salisbury. And Ive been encouraged by the willingness of our friends to show support and solidarity.
The UK governments demands for cooperation in their poisoning probe are unlikely to be complied with. The Russian Foreign Ministry denied that Moscow had any involvement in the poisoning and has also demanded that the British government hand over samples of the nerve agent used in the attack to Russia for its own examination.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has insisted that the accusations from the British government must be evaluated by proper international authorities under the terms of the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention, which prohibits the development, production, acquisition, stockpiling, retention, transfer or use of chemical weapons by signing countries, including Russia.
You’ll get no argument from me on that.
Russians just didn’t release him. The exchanged him and three others against 10 arrested Russian spies. Killing him now is going back on this deal.
The last time this guy had access to secret Russian information was 15 years ago.
I doubt that Skripal could have been a source for anything current as he retired from the GRU in 1999 and was arrested in 2004. He worked as a MI6 consultant because he knew the Russian system not because he had any recent inside information.
>>You have a problem with that?
>>Putin keeps DOMESTIC ENEMIES in line in Russia.
Russia, under that murderous thug, KGB Putin, props up and arms our enemies. This includes, not only Iran and Syria, but just about every remaining communist nation on earth: ChiComs, North Korea, numerous Latin American Marxist dictatorships. Putin’s aim is to basically restore the evil empire that was the Soviet Union.
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How Russia arms America’s southern neighbors
Ioan Grillo
May 9, 2014
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil — Russia’s push into Ukraine has put many on edge. But less known is that Russia is also strengthening its military links south of the Rio Grande and re-establishing itself as a power in the region.
Vladimir Putin has been strengthening military links here, and Russia is now the largest arms dealer to governments in Latin America, surpassing the United States.
Russia has even floated the possibility of building new military bases in Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua, and putting its warships permanently in the Caribbean.
In the midst of the Ukraine crisis, Russia’s top diplomat Sergei Lavrov recently visited Cuba, Peru, Chile, and Nicaragua, where he announced that Russia would also pour money into the new Central American canal project. ...”
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/140508/russian-arms-military-trade-latin-america
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Russia Boosts Arms, Training for Leftist Latin Militaries
Moscow defense minister inks deals with Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua for joint exercises
BY: Bill Gertz
February 20, 2015
Russia agreed to provide military training for three leftist regimes in Latin America and increase military visits and exercises following a visit last week to the region by Moscow’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoygu, Pentagon officials said.
Shoygu met with defense and military leaders in Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua and signed several agreements on warship visits and military training during the visit, which ran from Feb. 11 to 14. It is not clear whether any new arms deals were completed during the visit.
Defense officials said the Russian leader is seeking bases in the region for strategic bomber flights that Shoygu recently promised would include flights over the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean.
http://freebeacon.com/national-security/russia-boosts-arms-training-for-leftist-latin-militaries/
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KGB/FSB Putin very much wants a ‘unified Korea’...under communist NK rule
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Russia and North Korea declare 2015 a year of friendship
The biggest cause for concern is the growing military alliance between Russia and North Korea, with the two regimes recently announcing plans to conduct a series of joint army, navy and air force exercises this year.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/northkorea/11463265/Russia-and-North-Korea-declare-2015-a-year-of-friendship.html
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Russia steps up North Korea support to constrain US
May 17, 2017
Despite efforts by the United Nations to impose isolating sanctions on North Korea in response to the countrys continued development of nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missiles, trade between Russia and North Korea soared more than 85 percent in the first four months of the year.
http://www.dw.com/en/russia-steps-up-north-korea-support-to-constrain-us/a-38867861
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Sept 5, 2017
North Korea nuclear crisis: Putin calls sanctions useless
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said pursuing further sanctions against North Korea is useless, saying theyd rather eat grass than give up their nuclear programme.
The US said on Monday it would table a new UN resolution on tougher sanctions in the wake of the latest test of a nuclear bomb by the North on Sunday.
Mr Putin also said that the ramping up of military hysteria could lead to global catastrophe.
He said diplomacy was the only answer.
China, the Norths main ally, has also called for a return to negotiations. ...
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-41158281
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From the Sino-Russian Joint Statement of April 23, 1997:
“The two sides [China and Russia] shall, in the spirit of partnership, strive to promote the multipolarization of the world and the establishment of a new international order.”
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia/HI29Ag01.html
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“Joint war games are a logical outcome of the Sino-Russian Friendship and Cooperation Treaty signed in 2001, and reflect the shared worldview and growing economic ties between the two Eastern Hemisphere giants.”
http://www.heritage.org/research/commentary/2005/09/war-games-russia-china-grow-alliance
Vice President Mike Pence on Putin and Russia:
(from the VP debate on Oct 5, 2016)
When Donald Trump and I observe that, as Ive said, in Syria, in Iran, in Ukraine, that the small and bullying leader of Russia has been stronger on the world stage than this administration, thats stating painful facts. Thats not an endorsement of Vladimir Putin thats an indictment of the weak and feckless leadership of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.
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Also from the Oct 5, 2016 first VP debate...
QUIJANO (Moderator): I want to turn now to Syria. Two hundred fifty thousand people, 100,000 of them children, are under siege in Aleppo, Syria. Bunker buster bombs, cluster munitions, and incendiary weapons are being dropped on them by Russian and Syrian militaries. Does the U.S. have a responsibility to protect civilians and prevent mass casualties on this scale, Governor Pence?
PENCE: The United States of America needs to begin to exercise strong leadership to protect the vulnerable citizens and over 100,000 children in Aleppo. Hillary Clintons top priority when she became secretary of state was the Russian reset, the Russians reset. After the Russian reset, the Russians invaded Ukraine and took over Crimea.
And the small and bullying leader of Russia is now dictating terms to the United States to the point where all the United States of America the greatest nation on Earth just withdraws from talks about a cease-fire while Vladimir Putin puts a missile defense system in Syria while he marshals the forces and begins look, we have got to begin to lean into this with strong, broad-shouldered American leadership.
It begins by rebuilding our military. And the Russians and the Chinese have been making enormous investments in the military. We have the smallest Navy since 1916. We have the lowest number of troops since the end of the Second World War. Weve got to work with Congress, and Donald Trump will, to rebuild our military and project American strength in the world.
But about Aleppo and about Syria, I truly do believe that what America ought to do right now is immediately establish safe zones, so that families and vulnerable families with children can move out of those areas, work with our Arab partners, real time, right now, to make that happen.
And secondly, I just have to tell you that the provocations by Russia need to be met with American strength. And if Russia chooses to be involved and continue, I should say, to be involved in this barbaric attack on civilians in Aleppo, the United States of America should be prepared to use military force to strike military targets of the Assad regime to prevent them from this humanitarian crisis that is taking place in Aleppo.
Theres a broad range of other things that we ought to do, as well. We ought to deploy a missile defense shield to the Czech Republic and Poland which Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama pulled back on out of not wanting to offend the Russians back in 2009.
QUIJANO: Governor, your two minutes are up.
PENCE: Weve just got to have American strength on the world stage. When Donald Trump becomes president of the United States, the Russians and other countries in the world will know theyre dealing with a strong American president.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/06/us/politics/vice-president-transcript.html
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And...
PENCE: What were dealing with is the you know, theres an old proverb that says the Russian bear never dies, it just hibernates.
And the truth of the matter is, the weak and feckless foreign policy of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama has awakened an aggression in Russia that first appeared a few years ago with their move in Georgia, now their move into Crimea, now their move into the wider Middle East.
And all the while, all we do is fold our arms and say were not having talks anymore.
To answer your question, we just need American strength. We need to we need to marshal the resources of our allies in the region, and in the immediate, we need to act and act now to get people out of harms way.
Donald Trump: ‘Putin has eaten Obama’s lunch, therefore our lunch, for a long period of time’
Mar 13, 2014
Eun Kyung Kim: TODAY SHOW (NBC)
Donald Trump slammed President Obama Thursday on TODAY for failing to take a stronger line against President Vladimir Putin in dealing with Ukraine, saying he feared Obama would now make up for lost time with imprudent moves to “show his manhood.”
The real estate mogul and reality-TV star, who has criticized Putin for sending military troops into Crimea, said Obama must now take fierce steps to prevent the situation from escalating further.
“We should definitely do sanctions and we have to show some strengths. I mean, Putin has eaten Obama’s lunch, therefore our lunch, for a long period of time,” Trump said. ...”
http://www.today.com/news/donald-trump-putin-has-eaten-obamas-lunch-ukraine-2D79372098
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Heres the interview w/ Matt Lauer on YouTube...
Donald Trump (2014): Vladimir Putin Has Eaten Obamas Lunch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzURUENf1ns
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JULY 2017...
Trump, in Warsaw Speech, Criticizes Russias Destabilizing Role in Ukraine, Syria
The president also reaffirmed his commitment to NATOs mutual-defense pact
Jul 6, 2017
President Trump called Russia a destabilizing influence in Europe and the Middle East, and urged it to join the community of responsible nations, in his strongest remarks yet against the regime of Vladimir Putin, whom he is scheduled to meet Friday in Hamburg for the first time.
His remarks in Warsaws Krasinski Square, which marks the 1944 Warsaw uprising against the Nazis, came after the U.S. agreed to sell Patriot missiles to Poland. The president also used the opportunity to reiterate the NATO commitment to mutual defense, a declaration he did not make during the NATO summit in May, prompting consternation among U.S. allies wary of Russias ambitions.
To those who would criticize our tough stance, I would point out that the United States has demonstratednot merely with its words but with its actionsthat we stand firmly behind Article 5, the mutual-defense commitment, Trump said Thursday. Words are easy, but actions are what matters. And for its own protection, Europe, and you know this, everybody knows this, everybody has to know this, Europe must do more.
Trump has repeatedly said NATO members must spend more on defensea position in line with past U.S. administrations. But he has been criticized because he appeared to suggest U.S. commitment to mutual defense was predicated on its allies defense spending. ...
https://www.theatlantic.com/news/archive/2017/07/trump-russia/532761/
Those murdered "domestic enemies" of his included mainly newspaper reporters and former colleagues who had or were about to spill the beans on his and his regime's diabolical activities. He is a very clever but very evil SOB. The Russians are notorious for deception. They are masters of the complex game of chess. Most of us, unfortunately, suck at simple checkers. They must laugh their butts off at how easily they can trick and deceive westerners.
You are right about that, but the Russians don't have a monopoly on evil and diabolical.
The elected and un-elected Federal apparatchik is just as ruthless and corrupt in this nation as they are over there.
The amount of cash this government steals from working folks and squanders makes the Russian oligarchs and Mafia look like small potatoes.
These people get away with all sorts of crimes, interfere in elections all over the world, and its all covered up by a dishonest press.
They can come into a true and living relationship with The Father, through Jesus Christ. The LORD will transform them into real men, if they allow Him too. Pray for them. They must feel sniveling, and may be open to redemption.
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