Putin is ruthless and authoritarian but his professional appreciation for well-executed tradecraft must be slipping if he signed off on this assassination. The Russians have quieter poisons. And his political timing as well, considering Litvinenko’s high profile death coincided with Russia’s arms deal with Iran. Not a great image juxtaposition for Russia. Perhaps Putin was going for the double middle finger toward the West or perhaps Litvinenko was simply played by some of his dangerous friends, knowing the political effect of a splashy poisoning. Putin issued an angrily denial, but who would give that any credence? The Russian president could hardly announce to the press ” We got the bastard!” while jumping in the air and kicking his heels.

I’m not excusing Putin’s government. It is entirely possible, even likely, that they bear the responsibility for Mr. Litvinenko’s assassination and the institutional legacy of wet affairs and of sinister killers like Bogdan Stashinskii in Russia is a very long one. One that makes the CIA’s history in this regard pale by comparison, so they are not boy scouts. On the other hand, with all the consideration of 5GW in the past year in this section of the blogosphere, we might pause to at least ask ” Who benefits?”.

ADDENDUM:

Kent’s Imperative -“Mokrie Dela“

Jamie Glazov – “Symposium: To Kill a Russian Journalist“

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