3 ms·

Much easier and quiet way is to find a criminal guy who would kill Skripal for money and make it look like a robbery.

by AlexeyParamonov 8y ago

megous 8y ago
Depends on the goal. I don't think you can assume it was just to get rid of the person.
- huhtenberg 8y ago
  But that's the thing. There's no clear reason for Russians to so publicly go after this guy. They gain absolutely nothing from it. Whatever the "message" this was supposed to send, it's unclear.
  - JumpCrisscross 8y ago
    > Whatever the "message" this was supposed to send, it's unclear Large numbers of former KGB and FSB agents live outside Russia. These well-publicised killings send a clear message to them about the consequences of spilling—or threatening to spill—Putin’s beans.
    - huhtenberg 8y ago
      Yeah, that's the TV line. This guy lived quietly in the UK and had no "Putin's beans" to spill. He did blow cover of several hundred Russian agents, but he did time for that in Russia and then he was exchanged. It is possible it was a long-delayed payback from the GRU, but, again, there is no reason for it to be made that publicly. He could've choked on a pound coin and everyone who needed to know would've gotten the message. But the way it stands, the only discernible message here is "don't do any more spy exchanges with Russia".
      - JumpCrisscross 8y ago
        > that's the TV line As well as the well-substantiated conclusion of several international investigations. Same reasoning for Litvinenko’s polonium tea and North Korea’s nerve agent assassination.
        huhtenberg 8y ago
        That reasoning in this context doesn't make any sense. That's the problem.
        foldr 8y ago
        Ok then. Who else had the motivation to ostentatiously kill him using a weapon only available to state actors?
        huhtenberg 8y ago
        Another state actor? Though in the light of [1] it'd seem far less probable. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17987031 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17987031
        foldr 8y ago
        Indeed. Russia is the only plausible candidate.
      - r721 8y ago
        >Sergei V. Skripal, the former Russian spy poisoned in Britain with a powerful nerve agent, appears to have been working in recent years with intelligence officers in Spain, a country locked in a pitched battle with Russian organized crime groups, some with ties to the Russian government. >Rather than merely living an isolated life in retirement, Mr. Skripal, a former Russian military intelligence officer, continued to provide briefings to spies in the Czech Republic and Estonia, according to European officials. Now, it appears he was also active in Spain. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/06/world/europe/skripal-poison-russia-spy-spain.html https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/06/world/europe/skripal-pois...
        huhtenberg 8y ago
        How interesting. This definitely puts things in a different perspective.
    - wruza 8y ago
      What interesting life we live now. You can just watch the news and feel like you’re in the middle of some cool plotted tv series. Deep history, inriguing secrets, sharp moves, old hatred. It’s also along the modern trend of being sarcastic and a little cynical. Except that it is our real life and it clearly shown to not be like any tv show before.
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]

Much easier and quiet way is to find a criminal guy who would kill Skripal for money and make it look like a robbery.

megous 8y ago

Depends on the goal. I don't think you can assume it was just to get rid of the person.

huhtenberg 8y ago
But that's the thing. There's no clear reason for Russians to so publicly go after this guy. They gain absolutely nothing from it. Whatever the "message" this was supposed to send, it's unclear.
- JumpCrisscross 8y ago
  > Whatever the "message" this was supposed to send, it's unclear Large numbers of former KGB and FSB agents live outside Russia. These well-publicised killings send a clear message to them about the consequences of spilling—or threatening to spill—Putin’s beans.
  - huhtenberg 8y ago
    Yeah, that's the TV line. This guy lived quietly in the UK and had no "Putin's beans" to spill. He did blow cover of several hundred Russian agents, but he did time for that in Russia and then he was exchanged. It is possible it was a long-delayed payback from the GRU, but, again, there is no reason for it to be made that publicly. He could've choked on a pound coin and everyone who needed to know would've gotten the message. But the way it stands, the only discernible message here is "don't do any more spy exchanges with Russia".
    - JumpCrisscross 8y ago
      > that's the TV line As well as the well-substantiated conclusion of several international investigations. Same reasoning for Litvinenko’s polonium tea and North Korea’s nerve agent assassination.
      - huhtenberg 8y ago
        That reasoning in this context doesn't make any sense. That's the problem.
        foldr 8y ago
        Ok then. Who else had the motivation to ostentatiously kill him using a weapon only available to state actors?
        huhtenberg 8y ago
        Another state actor? Though in the light of [1] it'd seem far less probable. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17987031 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17987031
        foldr 8y ago
        Indeed. Russia is the only plausible candidate.
    - r721 8y ago
      >Sergei V. Skripal, the former Russian spy poisoned in Britain with a powerful nerve agent, appears to have been working in recent years with intelligence officers in Spain, a country locked in a pitched battle with Russian organized crime groups, some with ties to the Russian government. >Rather than merely living an isolated life in retirement, Mr. Skripal, a former Russian military intelligence officer, continued to provide briefings to spies in the Czech Republic and Estonia, according to European officials. Now, it appears he was also active in Spain. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/06/world/europe/skripal-poison-russia-spy-spain.html https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/06/world/europe/skripal-pois...
      - huhtenberg 8y ago
        How interesting. This definitely puts things in a different perspective.
  - wruza 8y ago
    What interesting life we live now. You can just watch the news and feel like you’re in the middle of some cool plotted tv series. Deep history, inriguing secrets, sharp moves, old hatred. It’s also along the modern trend of being sarcastic and a little cynical. Except that it is our real life and it clearly shown to not be like any tv show before.

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]