More of Kremlin’s Opponents Are Ending Up Dead

An article about Paul David Wellstone will be an engaging read.

Right...

Exactly. That was the point of using Po-210 for Litvinenko. The goal was to leave no possible doubt who killed him and for what. It was a warning to all future defectors.

So yes, nobody is safe even outside Russia.

Funny enough during Soviet times US seems to have been considered off-limits for targeted assassinations. But recently there have been two cases (Lesin and Poteyev) mentioned that are a bit suspicious.

Wonder if we'd feel a tiny bit like people where targeted drones attack happen feel. It is abstract when it happens 1000s of miles aways. It is different when it happens in your backyard.

> Other countries, notably Israel and the United States, pursue targeted killings, but in a strict counter-terrorism context. No other major power employs murder as systematically and ruthlessly as Russia

Like others pointed out. That is a great line. It is great because it embodies so much -- expected criticism, hidden guilt, need to rationalize, ideology (War On Terror excuses things).

It is also interesting that as soon as War On Terror started Putin has quickly jumped on-board and also started to claim what they were doing was "War On Terror" as well.

Besides the obvious moral repercussion here, engaging in torture and targeted drone killings has made the "we are qualitatively better than " a bit of a harder point to make. Even to the level that NYT can't assume it anymore, but rather have to explain it, expecting the obvious criticism.

1) Removed Libyan dictator Gaddafi who played ball with Western powers and kept illegal migration to the EU at bay. Replaced with ISIS style radicals.

2) Supported removal of Egypt dictator Mubarak who was definitely an ally of the West and Israel. Replaced by Muslim Brotherhood fanatics who are enemies of Israel and the West. When the Egyptian military removed them from power Obama tried to intervene on behalf of the Muslim Brotherhood.

3) Strengthened Irans position in the world by lifting sanctions. If they want nuclear weapons this would be the time. I'm not saying that I would have supported the coup against Mosaddegh or that I would have supported Iraq on invading Iran. But I would make it very hard for a government run by religious fanatics to acquire nuclear weapons.

4) Syria is an enemy of Israel, but they sure as hell do not want fanatics like ISIS roaming free in the region.

5) Wester main stream media is today very critical of Israel, more so in the EU than in the US. Products from Israel must now be labelled in some EU countries to make it easier for consumers to boycott trade. Some EU countries are even discussing sanctions against Israel. But trade with Saudi Arabia is fine.