Dec 09 2006
UK Preparing For Dirty Bomb Attack
I don’t need to underline what could possibly have pushed the UK to scramble and prepare their police forces for a possible dirty bomb attack:
POLICE forces have been told to buy anti-radiation masks for their 100,000 frontline officers to protect them in the event of a “dirty bomb†terrorist attack.
The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) has told all forces they should look to purchase specially designed chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear (CBRN) hoods as soon as possible.
Senior officers are concerned that, with only 1,000 thought to have been distributed, their ability to deal with any radiation threat will be severely hampered.
…
The urgency that is being placed on the purchase of the hoods reflects the level of concern over the likelihood of a “dirty bomb†attack, where radioactive material, packed around a conventional explosive, is detonated and spreads radiation over a wide area.
The threat has been highlighted by the use of radioactive polonium-210 to kill Alexander Litvinenko, the Russian defector.
…
An ACPO spokesman said: “All UK police forces have been made aware of the availability of escape hoods. They have been advised by ACPO that individual forces should consider acquiring sufficient hoods to equip all patrolling officers at times of heightened threat.â€
…
The current “threat level†of a terrorist strike in Britain is judged by MI5 and the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre to be “severeâ€, meaning that an attack is highly likely.
It would seem that there is heightened concern out there. And in a clear case of closing the barn door after all the horses are out the US and others are pondering whether to tighten controls on Polonium-210. I will attempt to help them shorten the process. The answer is: Hell yes!
Depends on what they ask. I believe their line of questioning is going to be limited to this particular case. Based on the behavior of the Russians in Moscow, the Brits might require the questions to be asked by them with the Russians simply being in the room while the interrogation is happening.
I believe the “hitlist” is a key part of the pointing the finger at Putin. Notice how Scaramella runs straight to London and presents the list on the day of the poisoning. Just in the nick of time!
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-2496488,00.html
In fact i wonder whether this whole thing was a ploy to get then extradited to Russia ahead of 2008 elections
Yes one thing i have wondered about is why is Scaramella not ill yet doctors said his exposure was of conscern to his immediate health.
Another thing – there was no hint that his wife had come to visit him
oh I just read that Scaramella is now free of Polonium!
CP – One Putin thorn-in-the-side, with sensitive and potential damaging info to be published, dead. And not just any death, but a horrid, slow, debilliating, painful, messy death. A kind that they have been known to do inthe past. Yet another Putin/Russia dissident/critic silenced, and message sent to others what awaits if you continue in your pursuits to “out” Kremlin tactics.
If friendlies and associates of same anti-Putin renegade are contaminated or killed, so much the better.
OK – the massive leaking and contamination — how massive is it? There have been exaggerated reports of this person & that having x levels, but so far no one else has died nor seems to be in grave shape. And Russian authorities have put the wraps on Lug & probably Kov so that no truthful detals will be forthcoming — just propoganda (like Kov in a coma). Kremlin & FSB/KGB doing what they always do.
Smuggling attempt — requires that Sasha be in it for super idealistic/radical reasons or needs big $. I don’t know enough about the guy, but doesn’t seem to fit profile I’v seen so far. And an accident whereby one guy gets massive over-exposure but no one else, seems naive — this guy was targeted. A murder– an assassination.
He wasn’t that big a thorn … and all one needed was two bullets to “send a message” to others. Wasn’t that big a thorn at all. He was generally regarded as a crackpot. Remember he blamed Putin for 9/11 too.
A fatal dose can take a month or two to manifest symptoms. 5 weeks after we have two other people who are ill. The only conflict we are seeing is reports on the severety of the illness.
Again, it makes no sense to use such a poison in such a way on a minor nuisance that nobody took very seriously when he was alive. He was probably more a threat to Boris than to Putin.
It would be like using polonium to get rid of Larry Johnson, wouldn’t make sense. If anything it would tend to BOLSTER what Litvinenko was saying. Not likely something the government would do.
He was a BIG thorn with inside, sensitive info on Anna P & ’99 bombings. There’s “crackpots” all over, e.g. Ted Kennedy.
The only way it makes sense is if you want it to be a Russian op. Then you can go through all the required contortions to make it so. No contortions needed for it to be accidental contamination from smuggling and possibly a murder to cover it up.
They’ve used it before, that’s why he knew. It’s nothing like using Po to kill Larry Johnson.
Boris was a bigger thorn, as was the Chechen. Not a big enough thorn to endanger the health of a foreign country’s nationals.
Until I see some evidence otherwise, it appears quite clearly to be smuggling.
It was russia that said he was insignificant – maybe what he was saying was true.
Boris is heavily guraded and didn’t have the sensitive info that Sasha learned and was planning to make public. Until there is more evidence, it is quite clearly assassination.
And guess what, there won’t be much more info — Kremlin making sure it dries up, real soon. The real truth will likely never be known.
My scientific knowledge is zero – is it possible that by overdosing Livinenko they hoped he would contaminate Boris?
The KGB propaganda tries to show that KGB agents are really smart.
These three Russian jokes about the fictional “Stirlitz,” the Soviet James Bond, suggest that Russians are under no illusions that their KGB is exactly a braintrust.
Stirlitz went into Müller’s office and said, “Herr Müller, how would you like to work as an agent for Soviet Intelligence? The pay is good.” Müller, shocked, gives an angry rebuff, then eyes Stirlitz suspiciously. Stirlitz starts to leave, but then stops and asks, “Gruppenfuhrer, do you have any aspirin?” Stirlitz knew that people always remember only the end of a conversation.
Stirlitz went into Müller’s empty office. He walked up to the safe and pulled on the handle. It wouldn’t open. After making sure that he was alone, he took out his gun and blasted away. Still, the safe wouldn’t open. Next, he put a hand grenade under the safe and removed the pin. After the smoke cleared, Stirlitz once again tried to open the safe. Again, however, he was unsuccessful. “Hmmm…” the experienced intelligence officer at last concluded, “must be locked.”
Stirlitz and Kathe are walking through the park. A gunshot rings out. Kathe falls. Blood flows. Stirlitz, relying on his keen instincts, immediately gets suspicious
Some information about Putin here:
http://legendofpineridge.blogspot.com/2006/12/something-to-hide-stirlitz.html
I still don’t think Scaramella’s presence has been satisfactorily explained. He is one of the most suspicious elements in this story. I’m leaning towards CP’s idea that he was simply given an order and followed it, not really knowing for what reason.
Another problematic aspect is Lugovoi’s failure to appear for interviews although Kovtun was able to. Before going into these scenarios I’d like to point out that I don’t have a preference for assassin vs smuggling (although I think the latter is more likely, just based on the sheer amount of Po that’s floating around). When I speak of the assassin below, I do it for the sake of the argument and because it is a possibility.
1) Is Lugovoi dead? Unlikely, because, then, why would they not just say so?
2) Is he severly sick, so much so that he can’t talk or that what he says will just be word salad or things he would not otherwise say (something Russian authorities might not be keen on)? If he is this sick, it would mean that he was exposed along with the others and is unlikely to be an assassin.
3) Is he in fact quite healthy? This would point strongly towards that he is the assassin. He could have dropped the Po in the tea and excused himself from the meeting. This would, of course, make him an assassin who is uncommonly disinterested in the Po traces left in his track. If this were true, he would be soon be reported dead (whether he is or not) or he would not be available for questioning until such a time has elapsed that it would be explainable why he would not show any strong signs of radiation (or until fake chemotherapy would have caused him to show some credible signs of it).
4) Has he disappeared? This could mean anything, possibly that BB set it up.
5) Have they talked to him, not liked what they heard and are unable to report it?
The failure to produce Lugovoi is strange to say the least, especially since Kovtun has been interviewed.
German papers (die welt) are using the word “several” to describe the places contaminated in Germany – yesterday we knew of 2 the ex mother in law and the ex wife….
and from the times UK – why these 6 Irish people?
SIX Irish guests who stayed at the London hotel where Alexander Litvinenko was poisoned with a radioactive substance have been urged to seek medical attention, writes John Burns. They are among hundreds of people who will be tested for polonium-210 after seven staff at the Millennium hotel, in Mayfair, tested positive.
Department of Foreign Affairs officials have been spending the weekend making contact with the six, who stayed in the hotel between October 31 and November 2. A spokesman said they did not want to alarm any of the Irish visitors, as the risk to their health was likely to be very low.