Isn’t it time for President George Bush to look into Russian President Vladimir Putin’s eyes again?
Former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko has died in hospital three weeks after apparently being poisoned in London.
University College Hospital, London, said Mr Litvinenko, 43, died at 2121 GMT on Thursday and the cause of his condition was still being investigated.
Friends have said the ex-KGB agent was poisoned because of his criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin – Russia has denied any involvement.
Well, if it’s good enough for GWB, then it’s good enough for us. AND:
Scotland Yard said they were now investigating “an unexplained death”.
Alex Goldfarb, speaking on behalf of Mr Litvinenko’s family outside the hospital, said: “We are all shocked and horrified at this terrible crime. Tonight is a night of mourning.”
He added that his friend had died with “a clear conscience, a clear heart and with dignity”.
Mr Litvinenko, who defected to the UK in 2000 and was later granted asylum after claiming persecution and took citizenship, fell ill on November 1 after a series of meetings in central London.
He was initially admitted to Barnet General Hospital hours later before being transferred to University College Hospital on 17 November as his condition worsened.
His condition deteriorated further when he suffered a heart attack overnight on Wednesday and he died in intensive care.
So what’s all the fuss about? It couldn’t be this, could it?
Mr Litvinenko had recently been investigating the murder of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya, another critic of the Putin government.
In an interview with Friday’s Times newspaper, film-maker Andrei Nekrasov said he had spoken to Mr Litvinenko, a close friend, hours before he fell unconscious for the last time.
He said Mr Litvinenko told him: “I want to survive, just to show them. The bastards got me but they won’t get everybody.”
It all must be a coincidence. And Litvinenko, on his deathbed, was just being paranoid and was pushing a political agenda.
Right?
SOME OTHER READING ON THIS STORY:
Spy’s dying words: ‘they got me
Moscow to blame for poisoning, KGB director says
Litvinenko poisoning: the main players
Victim’s tea companion denies any involvement
Death will cast shadow over relations with Kremlin
Read THIS MUST READ which contains this:
Yet in some of his final remarks before losing consciousness, the former spy remained defiant in his battle against Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Russian security services.
He also managed a joke at his own expense, suggesting that his poisoning was proof that his campaign against the Kremlin had targeted the right people. “This is what it takes to prove one has been telling the truth,” he said.
He was referring to allegations he made in a book, The FSB Blows up Russia, which accuses the Russian security services of causing a series of apartment block explosions in Moscow in 1999 that helped to propel Mr Putin into the presidency the following year.
Mr Nekrasov revealed last night that Litvinenko’s British citizenship had come through the last time they met, the day of a service at Westminster Abbey for Anna Politkovskaya, a journalist friend and critic of the Kremlin who was murdered in Moscow.
“We discussed the likelihood of another killing. Sasha warned me not to go back to Russia because it was too dangerous,” Mr Nekrasov said. “Very sadly he turned out to be the next victim, attacked in the perceived safety of Central London.”
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.