Trump's Odd Silence as the World Condemns Putin for the Poisoning of Aleksei Navalny
The United Nations and much of the world is expressing outrage and demanding an investigation following confirmation by German officials that a deadly nerve agent, Novichok, was used in the poisoning of Aleksei Navalny, a vocal critic of Vladimir Putin and his government.
Novichok is banned internationally under the Chemical Weapons Convention and is the same chemical used to poison former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter in the UK in 2018. Novichok was developed by Russia during the Cold War and is exceedingly rare.
And this would not be the first time that a Putin critic was targeted by Russia's intelligence services.
New York Times: "The Russian security services are suspected of having used a range of poisons in attempts to eliminate opponents, although Russian officials have consistently denied it."
"Many of those victims have been stricken after drinking tea."
"Anna Politkovskaya, an investigative journalist, fell ill after taking a cup of tea on a domestic flight. She survived, but was shot and killed in her apartment elevator two years later."
"A former Russian agent turned Kremlin critic Alexander V. Litvinenko, succumbed after ingesting a radioactive isotope, Polonium 210, while having tea with two Russian agents. British investigators later determined that the killing had most likely been ordered by Mr. Putin."
You can find a longer list of Putin critics that have been targeted here.
While much of the international community is disgusted with the continuing attacks on Putin's political opponents, Donald Trump has remained oddly silent, saying only that, “we’re looking at it.” The President's reticence to criticize Putin is remarkable because it's so consistent. Despite reports from his own intelligence officials, Trump has largely ignored Russia's efforts to interfere in the 2020 election and other recent provocations.
New York Times: "Mr. Trump has also not commented on a series of escalatory Russian military actions in recent days, including a late-August episode in northeastern Syria that left seven American troops injured after a Russian armored vehicle rammed theirs. And he has dismissed intelligence reports that Russia offered bounties to Taliban-affiliated fighters in Afghanistan for the killing of American troops there as “a hoax.”
So, why hasn't Trump condemned Vladimir Putin despite these numerous provocations? Former FBI agent Peter Strzok, who worked on the Russia investigation, has a theory.
Washington Post: ... "I do think the president is compromised, that he is unable to put the interests of our nation first, that he acts from hidden motives, because there is leverage over him, held specifically by the Russians but potentially others as well.”
By: Don Lam & Curated Content
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