9/14/20

Why the Novichok- Isn't that Somewhat Klutzy Spycraft??

 In most spy movies malevolent agents seeking to poison some political victim use somewhat untraceable drugs that resemble a heart attack or look natural. One movie had a tiny cyanide pellet that could be injected by a passerby, kill the target and fade out of the bloodstream too quickly to be traced, so why I wonder would the Kremlin order a killing of a political opponent of the President of Russia Vladimir Putin with the worst possible means to point at Kremlin involvement? Maybe poisoning planner thought investigators would think the Novichok appeared through normal levels of nerve agent in the atmosphere to which Mr. Navalny was especially sensitive.

If Russia's spy service are so expert these days at influencing U.S. voters with cleverly constructed and placed Facebook advertising and fake news articles, how is it that they have become regressive from the era of From Russia with Love with the poisoned steel shoe blades?

Novichok might be the world's most powerful nerve agent; better even than the traditional G.A., G.B. and V.X. Keeping even a little of it about is very dangerous to the spook handling it as well as the victim. Only four or five governments are known to have some of the stuff, and besides that, maybe just a few unknown agencies acquired some during the chaos and breakdown of military supply control in the post-Cold War era. Actually former Soviet nerve agents and Biopreparat materials could be about anywhere along with a few cold nukes. That may add some spice and excitement to government planning for many of course, yet it shouldn't encourage President Putin to use a nerve agents developed by Soviets to reduce political opposition- it gets bad PR the Kremlin might not want.

Vladimir Putin was supposed to have had training by the K.G.B. as a spook; is Novichok killings and other blunt instruments the sort of training they put out back Leningrad circa 1980? What is even more remarkable is the fact that Alexi Navalny was given just enough Novichok to get very ill yet not enough to kill. That must be a very, very fine line regarding dosage. Straight shooter days of Ronald Reagan seem long gone indeed.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/14/alexei-navalny-continues-to-improve-say-german-doctors

https://nypost.com/2020/09/14/french-swedish-labs-confirm-alexei-navalny-poisoned-with-novichok/

President Trump was nominated for the Nobel Peace prize recently for bring the Middle East Peace closer to being normalized with an Arab nation or three willing to normalize diplomatic relations with Israel and for getting the Taliban and the normal Afghans together to discuss bring peace to that nation after so many decades of interminable wars. President Trump also is one of the few recent U.S. Presidents not to start a war of his own- not even a little one. One would hope that he might be able to restore real normalized relations with Russia if he has a second term; one that would allow the west to fully interact with Russia socially and economically without all of the adversity as the Democrat Party has brought to bear when ever they get a chance to do so. I the world's environmental and demographic challenges are to be met by future Presidents that will require partnership with Russia across many fronts.

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