December 12, 2004
Waiter !!!
There's a skull and crossbones in my soup...
As if the drama in the Ukraine wasn't already dramatic enough, we can add whodunit hijinx and intrigue to the mix - opposition candidate Viktor Yushchenko was indeed poisoned, by parties unknown, but believed to be last seen wearing fur papakhas with the monogram K G and a letter they can't quite figure out, but it might have been a B.
Information indicates that dioxin, the substance declared to be involved, is a very poor poison - as clearly demonstrated here. That is - if your intent is to kill. The KGB has a proven track record with ricin, no need to quibble if we simply want someone taking a dirt nap. But the goal was not to get Yushchenko dead - merely very tired. What they didn't count on was Yushchenko's resulting chloracne, a result from the dioxin poisoning, that so altered his appearance and gave the world a before and after look at their handiwork.
You think Yushchenko and Ukraine presented a problem to Russia before? Try messing with a state's election and poisoning it's potential leader. Kick over any fire ant mounds lately? Poking beehives lately? The real poisoning has been in Russian relations with the West and with Ukraine. And how does this bode for Russia? I mean if they'll poison people and rig the election in another country, what wouldn't they do in their own?
George W. Bush's original optomistic assessment of Putin seems to be losing it's luster...
Posted by MEC2 at December 12, 2004 09:33 PM