Another Russian Ambassador Found Dead

Photo: Mirgayas Shirinskiy Russian Foreign Ministry

Business Insider: Russian ambassadors keep dying in mysterious ways

Russia's ambassador to Sudan was found floating dead in a swimming pool in his Khartoum home on Wednesday.

Mirgayas Shirinskiy, 63, "was found in his residence with evidence of an acute heart attack," Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian foreign ministry, told BBC on Thursday.

While the cause of death is initially being considered natural, since Shirinskiy suffered from high blood pressure, s even Russian ambassadors have died in mysterious ways over the last two years.

Two of them died from heart attacks, and Shirinsky would be the third.

Read more ....

Previous Post: Is There A Covert Campaign To Murder Russian Diplomats And Officials? (Febraury 28, 2017).

WNU Editor: Floating dead in a swimming pool? I can see it now .... those who believe in conspiracy theories are having a field day with this story.

Is There A Covert Campaign To Murder Russian Diplomats And Officials?

Zero Hedge: Deep State War? Russian Officials Keep Dying Unexpectedly

Six Russian diplomats have died in the last 60 days. As Axios notes, all but one died on foreign soil. Some were shot, while other causes of death are unknown. Note that a few deaths have been labeled "heart attacks" or "brief illnesses."

1. You probably remember Russia's Ambassador to Turkey, Andrei Karlov — he was assassinated by a police officer at a photo exhibit in Ankara on December 19.

2. On the same day, another diplomat, Peter Polshikov, was shot dead in his Moscow apartment. The gun was found under the bathroom sink but the circumstances of the death were under investigation. Polshikov served as a senior figure in the Latin American department of the Foreign Ministry.

3. Russia's Ambassador to the United Nations, Vitaly Churkin, died in New York this past week. Churkin was rushed to the hospital from his office at Russia's UN mission. Initial reports said he suffered a heart attack, and the medical examiner is investigating the death, according to CBS.

4. Russia's Ambassador to India, Alexander Kadakin, died after a "brief illness January 27, which The Hindu said he had been suffering from for a few weeks.

5. Russian Consul in Athens, Greece, Andrei Malanin, was found dead in his apartment January 9. A Greek police official said there was "no evidence of a break-in." But Malanin lived on a heavily guarded street. The cause of death needed further investigation, per an AFP report. Malanin served during a time of easing relations between Greece and Russia when Greece was increasingly critiqued by the EU and NATO.

6. Ex-KGB chief Oleg Erovinkin, who was suspected of helping draft the Trump dossier, was found dead in the back of his car December 26, according to The Telegraph. Erovinkin also was an aide to former deputy prime minister Igor Sechin, who now heads up state-owned Rosneft.

Read more ....

Update: 7 Russian Officials Murdered Or Found Dead Since Election Day (True Activist)

WNU Editor: I first heard about this from my Russian friends after Russian Ambassador to the UN Churkin died from a heart-attack this past week. They were wondering on why are so many Russian officials had died in the past few months? Is there something malevolent involved? I poo-poo the entire idea .... there are thousands and thousands of Russian diplomats and officials all around the world .... people die naturally (or accidentally) all the time, and for those who are murdered .... we usually know the reasons why within a few hours. But the point of this post is that people are now raising questions .... and outlets like Zero Hedge are seizing upon it. Conspiracy theories always make the rounds .... especially for those on the fringes .... but this is one conspiracy theory that I hope dies down .... and the sooner it does the better.

Critics Of America's Covert Wars To Meet In Washington

Obama To Be Challenged Over Human Cost Of CIA Drone Strikes -- The Guardian

Campaigners to meet in Washington to highlight how CIA is operating in seceret and inflicting civilian casualties abroad.

The human cost of the US government's clandestine drone strikes strategy, including the deaths of young children in Pakistan and Yemen, will be highlighted this weekend as campaigners attempt to challenge domestic support for the Obama administration's controversial policy.

A conference in Washington, at which new video testimony will be shown from the relatives of victims, is the first step in a collaborative campaign to challenge Barack Obama's claim in February that the strikes, aimed at terror suspects, were kept on a "tight leash" and had not inflicted huge civilian casualties.

Read more ....

My Comment: Let's see if the American mainstream media will cover these protestors this weekend. In the meantime ....

U.S. Drones Can Now Kill Joe Schmoe Militants in Yemen -- Danger Room
Officials: Expanded drone strikes approved -- Boston.com/AP
Obama gives CIA, military green light to step up drone attacks on al Qaeda targets in Yemen -- New York Post/Wall Street Journal
White House OKs broad Yemeni drone drive -- UPI
Obama escalates in Yemen – again -- Salon

Is A Covert War Of Assassinations Between Israel And Iran Escalating Out Of Control?

Diplomat Attacks Raise Specter of Escalating Israel-Iran War -- Bloomberg Businessweek

eb. 14 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. officials and defense analysts are concerned that a covert war of assassinations between Israel and Iran could escalate out of control.

“Things are heating up and there is a surge” of assassination attempts, Matthew Levitt, a former U.S. Treasury Department official and now director of the Stein Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said in a telephone interview.

Read more ....

Update: Exclusive: Iranian Payback? Hits on Israelis Mimic Attacks on Iran Scientists -- ABC News

My Comment: While Iranian/Hezbollah agents are the main suspects in recent attacks, some in Israel are now questioning if these assassination attempts have an actual Iranian connection. What's my take .... because no one is claiming responsibility for these attacks, one is then forced to make the assumption that your "main enemy" is the one who is behind it. Because of the volatility in the region, and the need to always appear strong and independent against your opponents .... everyone is now blaming the other side, which in this case we have Israel in one corner blaming Iran and its proxies like Hezbollah, and in the other corner we have Iran blaming Israel (and indirectly) the U.S..

For the moment, both sides are now just accusing each other. But .... and this is my prediction .... if we have more attacks and successful assassinations in the next few weeks .... this conflict will escalate into something far more sinister and dangerous.

Speculation Is Rampant On Whether A U.S. - Israeli Covert War Against Iran Is Now Taking Place

Photos released by the Institute for Science and International Security show an Iranian missile-testing site near Tehran before an explosion destroyed the base. GeoEye, via Google Earth

Explosion Seen as Big Setback to Iran’s Missile Program -- New York Times

WASHINGTON — The huge explosion that destroyed a major missile-testing site near Tehran three weeks ago was a major setback for Iran’s most advanced long-range missile program, according to American and Israeli intelligence officials and missile technology experts.

In interviews, current and former officials said surveillance photos showed that the Iranian base was a central testing center for advanced solid-fuel missiles, an assessment backed by outside experts who have examined satellite photos showing that the base was almost completely leveled in the blast. Such missiles can be launched almost instantly, making them useful to Iran as a potential deterrent against pre-emptive attacks by Israel or the United States, and they are also better suited than older liquid-fuel designs for carrying warheads long distances.

Read more ....

Update: Mysterious blasts, slayings suggest covert efforts in Iran -- L.A. Times

My Comment: Key nuclear scientists being murdered. Explosions at critical facilities. Cyber war reports continuing. A highly advanced U.S. spy drone crashing in Iran. Hmmmm .... sounds like a covert war to me.

Is America's Covert War Against Islamic Extremists About To Increase?

Yemen Covert Role Pushed -- Wall Street Journal

Foiled Bomb Plot Heightens Talk of Putting Elite U.S. Squads in CIA Hands.

WASHINGTON—The foiled mail bombing plot by suspected al Qaeda militants in Yemen has added urgency to an Obama administration review of expanded military options that include putting elite U.S. hunter-killer teams that operate secretly in the country under Central Intelligence Agency authority.

Officials said support was growing both within the military and the administration for shifting more operational control to the CIA—a move that would allow the U.S. to strike suspected terrorist targets unilaterally with greater stealth and speed.

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My Comment: After last weeks discovery of a massive terror plot against cargo aviation, I suspect that the go-ahead has already been given to expand America's covert war against these terror groups.

America's Covert War In South America

Private Contractors And Covert Wars In South America -- Al Jazeerah

U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) threatened to issue subpoenas against the U.S. Defense and State Departments last month if they continue to refuse to accurately account for billions of dollars spent on private contractors assisting Washington in the ‘war on drugs’ in Latin America. But McCaskill’s concerns raise broader questions about oversight and transparency of a controversial industry and its ever expanding role in Washington’s foreign policy.

“We asked for this information from the State Department and the Defense Department (DoD) more than three months ago. Despite our repeated requests, neither Department has been able to answer our questions yet,” said U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill at a Senate hearing on May 20.

Read more ....

Hat Tip: GoodShit

My Comment: With few options left .... and too few resources .... contractors are the only alternative left for the U.S. Defense Department to use in their South American anti-drug operations. Does the U.S. Senate want to put this relationship in jeopardy even if it may impact future U.S. Defense Department and contractor arrangements and agreements .... from my vantage point it appears that this is exactly what the U.S. Senate wants to do, and more specifically they are wanting accountability .... something that I am sure that many of these contractors will not/or cannot fulfill.

U.S. Covert Ops In The Middle East Is Making Some Countries Nervous

Abdolhamid Rigi, top Sunni rebel for the Jundallah (Soldiers of God) group, speaks during a press conference in the Iranian city of Zahedan on August 25, 2009. UPI Photo/stringer.

U.S. Plan For Covert Ops Causes Jitters -- UPI

BEIRUT, Lebanon, June 3 (UPI) -- The recent disclosure that the U.S. military is expanding its covert operations in the Middle East, Central Asia and the Horn of Africa is widely seen as a dangerous precedent, with Iran as one of the main targets.

The Americans and their allies have long been waging a war of the shadows against the Islamic Republic, with Tehran often giving as good as it gets.

Read more ....

My Comment: The Iranians have been waging a covert war against the west through their surrogates for years .... they are now receiving blow back and they do not like it.

Are U.S. Special Forces in Iran?

Petraeus Orders US Spies To Prepare For Anti-Nuclear Strike On Iran -- Times Online

Teams of American special forces have been authorised to conduct spying missions intended to pave the way for a military strike on Iran in case President Obama orders one, US government sources have confirmed.

The military units would penetrate Iranian territory to reconnoitre potential nuclear targets and make contact with friendly dissident groups, according to a secret directive written by General David Petraeus. The document’s existence was disclosed for the first time yesterday.

Read more ....

My Comment: The release of this classified document is going to further complicate US operations in the region .... but I suspect that this was the intention of the person who leaked this story in the first place.

President Obama Expands America's Covert War Against Radical Terror Groups And Their Supporters

President Obama and General Petraeus

Obama Gives Commanders Wide Berth For Secret Warfare -- The Atlantic

Last summer, the White House authorized a massive expansion of clandestine military and intelligence operations worldwide, sanctioning activities in more than a dozen countries and giving the military's combatant commanders significant new authority to conduct unconventional warfare.

The New York Times reported on one major operational plan, which authorizes intelligence gathering and reconnaissance activities in the Middle East, the Horn of Africa and Central Asia. A Joint Unconventional Warfare Task Force Execute Order, was signed on September 30, 2009, by CENTCOM commander in chief David Petraeus. It was marked "LIMDIS" -- as in "limited distribution," and hard copies were delivered to about 30 people.

The Times did not report its original classified codename, "Avocado." The name has since been changed.

Read more ....

My Comment: Two of my sources gave me a heads up that such a plan was being implemented a few months ago. But with no tangible evidence, I chalked it up as wishful thinking among my friends in the intelligence community. But with the release by the New York Times of documents that outline a major expansion of America's covert war .... it appears that my friends were right.

As to what is my take on all of this .... President Obama has no delusions that the world is a dangerous place with people who wish to do us great harm. The fact that this focus on expanding America's covert war against radical groups happened last year when he assumed the Presidency is testimony to the man that he will not hesitate to use America's resources to defend America .... this (in my opinion) is a good thing.

But instead of using America's military in a blunt and public display of power when the need arises (cruise missile strikes, air strikes, etc.) .... he has chosen to use the military and the intelligence services in a discreet and "very private" manner. I suspect that many operations have already been conducted .... missions conducted in very dangerous situations and/or environments .... but it is being kept secret in the tradition of covert war.

In short, President Obama has now expanded America's war to the Horn of Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, Iran, and to the trouble states of Central Asia. He has also enlisted numerous allies to help in conducting such operations .... Georgia, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan and in the Dagestan region of the North Caucuses .... just to name a few. While the focus is on the war in Afghanistan, and the winding down of the war in Iraq .... this covert war has the potential to be just as bloody and messy as a public war .... with blow back from some very unsavory individuals and countries .... Iran being on the top of the list.

My only hope is that Congress and the proper authorities provide the proper oversight for such a major expansion of the covert war. The reason for my concern is that the last time such a covert war was launched and Congress failed in providing the proper oversight .... was Vietnam, with the covert war operating in Laos and Cambodia.