Unless you've been on a different planet this past week, you would have heard about the attempted assassination of the former British spy Sergei Skripal in Salisbury, United Kingdom.
The moment I saw this story hitting the headlines, I thought to myself something wasn't right. The story didn't feel natural to me and the speed with which it developed felt completely off. I've learned to trust my gut over the years when it comes to the media, so I decided to do a bit of my own research. What I learned and what I believe happened is shocking.
Let's start with Sergei Skripal, the unfortunate victim of a state-sponsored assassination attempt. Sergei Skripal was a Russian Colonel who provided intelligence to the British. In 2004 he was arrested and convicted of high treason in Russia and sentenced to prison. After serving six years in a Russian prison he was handed over to America in a prisoner exchange. He then settled in the UK.
It's worth noting that he was handed over so that Russia could bring home the members of the illegals program who were captured by the FBI. The TV series, 'The Americans' was based upon the illegals program.
The point is, Sergei Skripal was considered a low-value prisoner to the Russians. The illegals program spy swap deal was supposed to be an 11 for 11 prisoner exchange. However, on the day of the exchange in Vienna, Russia only handed over 4 of its prisoners and Sergei Skripal was among them. From Russia's point of view, they had exiled four of their traitors in exchange for 10 Russian heroes.
Now you've got to ask yourself, do you believe that Russia would then decide to assassinate Sergei Skripal some 8 years later?
The British government and the media seem to think so as they didn't hesitate with their accusations. British journalists (Oops sorry, I mean reporters) all followed the same opinionated narrative that Russia had attempted to kill one of their traitors on British soil, using an illegal chemical weapon.
While I don't doubt that Russia is more than capable of doing it, on this occasion I have my doubts.
While all of this is going on in the United Kingdom, Vladimir Putin is in the middle of an election campaign over in Russia. He is attempting to boost his popularity by addressing domestic issues for the people in the motherland. It would be incredibly foolish for Putin to sanction the assassination of a low-value traitor on foreign soil. Especially one that would undoubtedly create an international situation during his election campaign. With all his flaws, I don't believe Putin has ever been accused of being foolish.
It makes me wonder, is somebody trying to interfere with a Russian election? Now wouldn't that be a coincidence! The same thing that Russia has been accused of doing recently.
When you consider Putin's election campaign and the fact that Sergei Skripal is a low-value target, I think it's very unlikely that the Russian government is involved. Of course, it's also possible it could have been a domestic faction from within Russia hoping to cause problems for Putin, but I don't think so...
I believe the truth can be found a lot closer to home.
I can't get over how unnatural the news reporting felt. The whole narrative was so predictable from start to finish. So much so, it felt scripted.
I live in the UK and I know how the emergency services work. The first thing that caught my attention was how quickly events unfolded. Before they had even reported a nerve agent being used, they had men in bright yellow chemical protection suits spraying the streets of Salisbury. All this from two people who were sitting on a bench and looked high on drugs which is not an uncommon sight in Salisbury. Anyway, that is just my thoughts at the time. It felt odd, not normal at all.
Another coincidence in this story is the fact that Porton Down is about 5 miles away from where this nerve gas attack happened. Porton down is home to the DSTL (The MOD's Defence Science and Technology Laboratory) which just happens to be the very location where the UK developed and tested their nerve agents.
Porton Down has a very dark past of experimenting on young British soldiers with nerve agents. These young victims were lied to and told the experiments were completely safe. In 2008, the British government finally apologised for the atrocities carried out at Porton Down and paid out compensation to 670 victims.
The British government have claimed 'they believe' the nerve agent used was a Russian developed agent called Novichok. They didn't present any evidence of this at first because the British government is not supposed to possess Novichok
However, many people believe it's very likely that Porton Down have a stockpile of Novichok for "research purposes". We know for certain that the United States have it as they helped to decontaminate Novichok after it was being produced in Uzbekistan. Also, the creator of Novichok, Vil Mirzayanov is now a U.S Citizen.
As the British government is not supposed to have this nerve agent, this makes their accusation very suspicious.
Let me explain
The British government claimed it MUST have been Novichok simply because it wasn't VX or Sarin and the delivery method used meant it also wasn't Tabun or Soman nerve agents. This was a highly speculative accusation to conclude it must have been Novichok allowing them to point the finger at Russia.
I'm sorry but this is all too convenient for my liking. Would Russia really use the one nerve agent that incriminates them?
This story fits perfectly into the British governments continuous anti-Russian propaganda campaign and I'm afraid I'm not buying it. Theres far too many coincidences and convienient truths and I know the British Government have no problem killing people to force an agenda through.
The truth is, it's far more likely to have been any number of other nations who carried out this attack (including Britan) before I believe it was Russia. What I found most disturbing was how quickly other nations around the world condemned Russia without the evidence to back it up.
Do you see why it all feels scripted?
It leaves me wondering why they are stepping up the anti-Russia propaganda now?
Is it a psyops to justify action against Russia in Syria? or could it simply be revenge for getting involved in western politics?
Or could there be far more serious implications?
This incident has allowed the British government to put a stop to Russian propaganda being broadcasted through Russia Today and the British government has already expelled Russian diplomats.
Only time will tell where this ends. One things for sure, it's not hard to imagine how this could escolate into far more serious implications for everyone.
EDIT (Sunday 18th March 2018)
It has been reported in the British press that the police investigating this attack believe the Nerve Agent was sprayed in the faces of Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia by a passing motorbike while sat on a bench in Salsbury. They also claim that Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey was also exposed to the nerve agent while attending the scene of the attack.
However, there is now comflicting reports that Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey was exposed to the Nerve agent while searching the home of Sergei Skripal. Not only does this mean the motorbike attack never happened, it also suggests that Sergei Skripal was either attacked in his home or he was in possesstion of the nerve agent himself.
It certainly puts a whole new spin on the story and it's no supirse the propaganda media isn't reporting this because it doesn't fit their anti-Russian narrative.
What's your opinion on this story? Do you believe it was Russia or someone else?