Defense News: UK officials want to rethink deterrence after alleged Russian chemical attack
WASHINGTON – Russia’s alleged use of a chemical weapon on British soil is a sign that the United Kingdom and its allies must rethink what deterrence looks like in the 21st century, two senior British defense officials said Tuesday.
Stephen Lovegrove, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Defence, called the attack a criminal act of “attempted murder” and one that requires such a response to deter leaders in Moscow from further attempts.
“It’s not spy on spy. This is an egregious breach of international law and the chemical weapons convention, [an] unlawful use of force by the Russian federation on British soil against a British citizen,” Lovegrove said.
But the bigger issue may be that the attack was “merely a grotesque and outrageous continuation of the type of behavior that Russia has been conducting against any number of countries,” whether through cyber assaults or propaganda, he added.
Read more ....
WNU Editor: The old rules and understandings are not working and/or being followed. In the past .... if the Soviet Union had launched a nerve agent attack in the heart of the U.K. to kill an ex-spy .... we would be at Defcon 2 and at the brink of war. Today .... diplomats are told to leave.
In the past noone would have believed an accusation like that without any proof.
ReplyDelete22 nations believe it since the victim a former soviet spy, an enemy of Putin; the agent very toxic, known to be controlled and developed by Russia...can you point to any other nation, person, that possesses that particular weapon?
ReplyDeleteProbably all the 22 just mentioned.
Deletecute, anon...but plain silly...you either know better or....well, comrade welcome
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteToxicologist: Lab With 'Military Capability' Likely Made Poison Used On Russian Ex-Spy
sure one of those non Russian nations wanted to kill a Russian ex spy, enemy of Putin
Putin ignored one of the oldest rules in politics, a Napoleon maxim to never interfere with an enemy when he is in the process of destroying himself. Putin clearly couldn’t help himself — or stop those who thought they were trying to help him — and has succeeded in uniting the independently-minded, liberally-oriented, collective-averse Western allies who were on the path to dissolving their ties.
ReplyDeleteA weakened West was clearly comfortable accommodating Russia, building more gas pipelines and energy dependencies while also congratulating Putin on his power, politics, and personal magnetism. Felling a former spy, however, was the straw that broke the camel’s back. It catalyzed a coordinated, collective Western response.
and now, blowback and Putin has united a lot of nations...dumb moves on his part...but his past and his nation's past got him to make dumb moves
Still no evidence,I go and get the pop corn while I am waiting.
DeleteThe gives of many nations accept Brit intel but u shrug off with smug remark
ReplyDeleteDo think putin will confess
I trust Brit claim and see no other possible killer
Sorry Fred... You should do a bit more research. It was recently revealed that the lab coats doing the research on the nerve agent were pressured in saying that Russia was responsible. Instead, they compromised and changed the wording to "Most likely made in Russia"... Not to mention the creator of the nerve agent said Britain is capable of making the agent.
ReplyDeleteDo your own research into it. Don't let your anti-russian bias blind you.