Letter: Putin Attacked Britain Because Trump is President of the U.S.

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Certainly the most macabre incident in the recent weeks was the attempted assassination on March 4 of a former Russian spy, Sergei Skripal, and his daughter, Yulia, in Salisbury, England. The weapon of choice? The horrid nerve agent Novichok, which is 10 times as lethal as VX gas and supposedly is outlawed even in wartime. Novichok may be available to murderous autocrats, but never to the general public.

Skripal originally was a spy for the Russian military intelligence agency, the GRU. While stationed in Madrid, Spain, he was recruited to be a double agent for the British secret intelligence service, MI6. It is believed that Skripal blew the cover of some 300 Russian operatives.

Arrested in Moscow in 2004, Skripal was imprisoned until 2010, when he and three others were swapped for 10 Russian agents incarcerated in the United States. Skripal’s son died of unknown causes while visiting St. Petersburg, Russia, in 2017.

Undoubtedly, Sergei and Yulia Skripal could have been killed with a knife, a blunt object, or an automobile. They could have been shoved before and onrushing Underground train in London, which they probably frequented.

But Novichok is not available at the local ironmonger or chemist, or by mail order. It’s use was a deliberate proclamation of disdain for the West by Vladimir Putin. To quote British Prime Minister Theresa May, this was an act of “sarcasm, contempt, and defiance.”

Most certainly, Putin is fully aware that the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, conceived to punish Russia with economic sanctions for its myriad misdeeds, passed both houses of Congress by a combined vote of 517-5 in July 2017. With virtual unanimity, Democrats and Republicans alike resolved to warn Russia to mind its manners.

But Donald Trump signed the legislation only with snarling reluctance and at the very last moment, fully aware that a veto of the act could never be sustained. Even worse, the legislation included a deadline of Jan. 29 for the imposition of sanctions, a provision the Trump deliberately and completely ignored.



In fairness, Trump allowed some sanctions on March 15. But the vicious assault on the Skripals had fueled worldwide condemnation, and he had no choice.

While still a substantial power, Britannia no longer rules the waves. It could counter Russian outrage only with the complete solidarity of the United States. Vladimir Putin attacked Britain because the president of the United States is Donald Trump.

 

Joseph Tipler

Centralia