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Former Spy Poisoned By Radiation In UK

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the fishy-quite-fishy dept.

An anonymous reader writes "BBC new is reporting the death of the ex-Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko with a major dose of radioactive polonium-210. But nobody knows how it got there. Suspicions have fallen upon the Russian security services (who deny involvement). The task of the pathologists now is to unpick what really killed him and how it was administered. Quite what techniques they will use to solve this puzzle is unclear." From the article: "A post-mortem examination on Mr Litvinenko has not been held yet. The delay is believed to be over concerns about the health implications for those present at the examination. But Roger Cox from the HPA said a large quantity of alpha radiation emitted from polonium-210 had been detected in Mr Litvinenko's urine."

3 of 432 comments (clear)

  1. Re:examination by pakar · · Score: 0, Troll

    Ehmmm... You do know that blood carries the HIV virus right?? Do dont need to f**k to catch it...

    Not shure if you where sarcastic, but lets hope so.. Aleast for your sake... ;>

  2. In the West... by alunharford · · Score: 0, Troll

    In the West, Putin kills You!

    In Soviet Russia, Putin Kills You!

  3. USA-USSR & Gentleman's Agreement in Cold War by reporter · · Score: 1, Troll
    During the Cold War, the USA (and the rest of the West) had a gentleman's agreement with the USSR. Moscow would send spies to the USA but would not engage in outright assassinations in the USA. Similarly, Washington would send spies to the USSR but would not engage in outright assassinations in the USSR. The USA and the USSR were locked in a cat-and-mouse game but would never actually commit physical violence on the opponent's soil.

    For this reason, I strongly doubt that Putin ordered the assassination of Alexander Litvinenko. He was on Western soil (i.e., Great Britain), and, by the terms of gentleman's agreement, was in the "safe" zone. If he had been in Russia and continued to be a Russian citizen, then Putin would have killed him, regardless of whether he is a permanent resident of Britain.

    Someone outside of the official Russian government killed him, but who would want to kill him?

    Currently, many reports claim that the Russian government is in chaos. It has numerous renegade factions that actually support criminal elements and that coordinate assassinations. These factions operate outside of the control of the official Russian government lead by Putin. These factions are likely implicated in the murder of Anna Politkovskaya.

    In my opinion, one of these factions orchestrated the murder of Litvinenko because he was aggressively investigating the murder of Politkovskaya. Putin would never have killed him; Putin is a veteran of the KGB and clearly understood the gentleman's agreement.

    By the way, I despise Putin. This despot is currently broadcasting Russian propaganda via a satellite-delivered broadcast called "Russia Today". When Moscow tried to brutalize the Georgians, "Russia Today" omitted broadcasting the Georgian point of view. "Russia Today" is almost as biased as Al Jazeera.