Trump administration slaps more sanctions on Russia after Skripal poisonings

https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/08/politics/us-state-department-russia-sanctions/index.html

Trump administration slaps more sanctions on Russia after Skripal poisonings

Washington (CNN)The Trump administration will impose sanctions on Russia under a chemical and biological warfare law following the poisoning of a former Russian agent and his daughter in the UK earlier this year, the State Department announced Wednesday.

In a statement Wednesday, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the US had made this decision on Monday, and accused Russia of violating international law. The statement anticipated the sanctions would go into effect around August 22 in line with the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991.
Sergei Skripal, a former Russian spy, and his daughter Yulia Skripal were hospitalized and treated for a nerve-agent attack in March. Yulia Skripal was discharged from the hospital in April, and her father was discharged in May following the novichok poisoning.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously denied allegations that Russia was behind the poisonings, saying in March that it was "unthinkable that we would do such a thing."

US President Donald Trump said in the wake of the attack that "it certainly looks like" Russia was behind it and his then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said at the time that the US had "full confidence" in the UK's investigation and conclusion that Russia was probably culpable. Wednesday's announcement reaffirmed the accusation from the US that Russia had used Novichok against its own nationals.

In late March, Trump ordered 60 more Russian diplomats expelled from the US as part of a global response to the attack -- a response that included similar expulsions of diplomats from other nations checking Russia. Moscow, in turn, responded to the international action by ordering its own expulsion of foreign diplomats.

 

Yeah this President is just Soooo obviously in Russians pockets leftists. Jesus. What a crap show. I don't even agree with these sanctions. All I'm hearing is probably from everyone involved. Within hours of the first poisoning in the UK the UK government blamed Russia without even an investigation. Then the media stated it as fact and there has been a full blown investigation but to my knowledge not one iota of proof provided. Outside of the poisons design originating in Russia 30 years ago? Who's chief administrator and chemist has been living in the US for decades...

And now we have idiot CNN who can't even tie its own shoelaces spreading propaganda. Not asking questions. Like... Why does our government have full confidence in the UKs investigation when all they have as evidence is probably. Yep that's 100% full validation for putting even more sanctions on a sovereign country.

 

C'mon now, you know Putin wanted these sanctions, that's why he had his puppet in the WH put them on.

Seriously man.

 

Now if the Skipals were enemies of America and died mysteriously that would be "proof enough" to the Left of more perfidious Capitalist American behevior.
As it was, the Skipals are enemies of Russia. And many enemies of Russia in general, and Putin in particular,
have come to nasty ends - exiled, imprisoned or dead. Maybe the Americans tried to murder the Skipals?

 

The sanctions were pushed and lobbied for by; you guessed it McCain and Graham. They are angry at Trump for meeting with Putin. I guess in their pea brains, a nuclear arms race would be better, that way we can show how much better we are at destroying the world.

Of course there are other aggravations, like having lost the war in Syria, and the attack on the American dollar- which again started only because of sanctions. I give up!

 

Note the names - McCain, Graham, Trump.
Forget Putin and his history of eliminating his enemies - eliminated not in debates, or votes or struggles for ideas - but with bullets, polonium and Novichok nerve agent.
This is moral equivalency at its worst.

 

Oh, the haters will say trump is just doing it so people won't know he and putin are in cahoots. You already can discern how their minds operate! ha ha ha

See, a delusion is inescapable, once it takes control of a brain. It has to be maintained, and that is how it is done. And to the delusional, it appears rational, reasonable. Such is the nature of a deluded brain, IMO

 

Skripal's daughter lived in Russia, so she can't be Russia's enemy - unless she went to pass information to the British, something I'm sure she wouldn't have been allowed to have access to. Also what would Russia gain by killing him, since he told the British Intelligence everything he knows?

There's another angle to this which seems a strong possibility. Someone said that Scripal wanted to return to Russia, and that's why they tried to kill him. The only way Skripal could return, would be by offering Putin some Intelligence that would make it worth while to have him back, so the MI6 poisoned him and blamed Russia. Either that, or they feared his daughter would carry secret information from her father back to Russia.

I became suspicious of British Intelligence after reading that some Russian oligarchs living in London have become frightened, and are negotiating their return to Russia. Putin said they could stay in London for all he cares, but he wants the money they stole back. I also read years ago that a Russian in a British hospital wouldn't allow them to move him to a different hospital for treatment, and insisted on being returned to Russia. This was right after the Litvinenko poisoning. As a side note, the companion of Litvinenko in a photo is Steele of the Trump dossier fame.

 

Putin eliminated them according to our propaganda networks the same way he bombed 7 non existent hospitals in Syria.

Propaganda = Lying for political expediency

Other than that, you are right about no moral equivalency. Iraq, Libya, Syria, Serbia and now Yemen comes to mind.

 

We heard it a different way in the UK. Apparently Washington took the decision of further sanctions, not Trump. How much fantasy can you spread? The UK gave the Russian eight years of safety and a home then poisoned him for no credible reason. Talk at least a little sense.

 

Accept Trump had nothing to do with this. This was the Senate I believe that did this. Nothing to do with Trump.

And in fact, Trump still hasnt bothered to impliment the LAST round of sanctions against Russia that were authorized.

Face it. Trump is Putins stooge. He has his head so far up Putins arse, its just incredible. And some of you guys even go so far as to thank Russia, and that you would rather BE a russian than an American democrat. Disgraceful all the way around on Trumpkins and Trumpites part.

 

You seem to be making some assumptions about my position. Not sure why that would be. I just wanted to share the story, in part because CNN is reporting factually and fairly about the Trump administration's actions. His cultists love to parrot his "fake news" accusations against CNN, yet here they are just telling it like it is. It does not go into detail about how much Trump personally has to do with it. Here is a piece which does offer more commentary in that regard:

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...ns-as-illegal-mulls-retaliation-idUSKBN1KU13C

Russia denounces new U.S. sanctions as illegal, mulls retaliation

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia condemned a new round of U.S. sanctions as illegal on Thursday and said it had begun working on retaliatory measures after news of the curbs pushed the rouble to two-year lows over fears Moscow was locked in a spiral of never-ending sanctions.

Moscow has been trying with mixed success to improve battered U.S.-Russia ties since Donald Trump won the White House in 2016, and Russia’s political elite was quick to chalk up a summit last month between Trump and Vladimir Putin as a victory.

But initial triumphalism swiftly turned sour as anger over what some U.S. lawmakers saw as an over deferential performance by Trump and his failure to confront Putin over Moscow’s alleged meddling in U.S. politics galvanized a new sanctions push.

Having bet heavily on improving ties with Washington via Trump, Moscow now finds that Trump is under mounting pressure from U.S. lawmakers to show he is tough on Russia ahead of mid-term elections.

In the latest broadside, the U.S. State Department said on Wednesday it would impose fresh sanctions by the month’s end after determining that Moscow had used a nerve agent against a former Russian double agent, Sergei Skripal, and his daughter, Yulia, in Britain, something Moscow denies.

The Kremlin said the sanctions were illegal and unfriendly and that the U.S. move was at odds with the “constructive atmosphere” of Trump and Putin’s encounter in Helsinki.

Moscow would start to work on retaliatory measures “in the same spirit” as any U.S. restrictions, the Foreign Ministry said.

The new sanctions come in two tranches. The first, which targets U.S. exports of sensitive national-security related goods, comes with deep exemptions and many of the items it covers have already been banned by previous restrictions.

The second tranche, which can be selectively activated after 90 days if Moscow fails to provide “reliable assurances” it will no longer use chemical weapons and blocks on-site inspections, is potentially more serious.

According to the law, it could include downgrading diplomatic relations, suspending national flag carrier Aeroflot’s ability to fly to the United States and cutting off nearly all exports and imports.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Moscow had not yet received any official U.S. request to open up sites once linked to chemical weapons for inspection.

The State Department’s announcement fueled already worsening investor sentiment about the possible impact of more sanctions on Russian assets and the rouble at one point slid by over 1 percent against the dollar, hitting a two-year low, before recouping some of its losses.

The U.S. move also triggered a sell-off in Russian government bonds and the dollar-denominated RTS index fell to its lowest since April 11.

“There is local panic on the currency market,” BCS Brokerage said in a note. “At times, the number of those who want to ditch the rouble is becoming so high so there is not enough liquidity.”

...
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It looks like Russia will really begin feeling the pressure economically as well. About time, I say!

 

More evidence of collusion.

 

More evidence that CNN is real news.

 

Uh huh.

More evidence CNN is trying to plug the holes in the boat and get back some of that sweet Food Network viewership.

 

Granny says, "Dat's right - dat's the Donald gonna make m`em cry Uncle!...

Ruble Tumbles as U.S. Sets Out New Sanctions on Russia
Aug. 9, 2018 — Russia’s currency fell on Thursday to its lowest dollar value in nearly two years, jarred by new American sanctions imposed in response to a nerve-agent attack on a former Russian spy in Britain.

 

If you want to find a criminal, ask yourself: who benefits? Putin? No. He is not an idiot to have sanctions against Russia. This was done by the one who benefits from sanctions against Russia. Establishment of England and the USA.

 

Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons has declared that this poison could be produced only in a state laboratory because it is difficult to produce it.

Since there must be a state which had a motive to poison the Skripals.

But Theresa May and company declared that Russia is the ONLY state which can have a motive to poison the Skripals.

But it is not true.

For example, there can be a state (or even states) which wants that relations between Russia and the rest of the world become worse.

If the secret service of this state had poisoned a Mrs. Brown in Salisbury nobody would believe that Russians had done it.

But a poisoning of the Skipals can be put on Russians therefore this secret service has poisoned the Skipals.

 

New sanctions would hurt Russia — but hurt American industry more http://thehill.com/opinion/internat...d-hurt-russia-but-hurt-american-industry-more

 

Good stuff, Poohbear, and I take back everything I just posted on another thread - you're obviously not as naive as I thought. I'll just add that we still don't know where Skripal is. For example, having fully recovered from this supposed assassination (and if anyone believes that ****, they'll believe anything!|), is he now living back in his house?

 

Another remark about this sanctions

Sanctions are punishment, but nobody can be punished only because it is likely that he has commited a crime.

It would sound quite idiotically if somebody says: "Mr. White is being punished because it is highly likely that he has poisoned Mrs. Brown".

But in the case of the Skripals we have exactly that - Theresa May and company impose sanctions against Russians because in their opinion it was highly likely that Russians had poisoned the Skripals (see below a citation from the official site of the British Government).

https://www.gov.uk/government/speec...-on-salisbury-incident-response-14-march-2018

 

There has never been any definitive evidence of it. Remember (my sig?) 'The bigger the lie, and the more times it's repeated, the more there will be who'll believe it.'?

 

And one more citation from the official site of the British Government

Theresa May has used a method of NLP which is called "exclusion of variants" - there were NOT only two plausible explanations.

I wrote about a third plausible explanation earlier in this thread - there can be a state which wants that relations between Russia and the rest of the world become worse and the secret service of this state has poisoned the Skripals - http://www.politicalforum.com/index...er-skripal-poisonings.539244/#post-1069468220

 

Yep, NLP works like a charm on the gullible and unthinking.

 

I have a Greek friend who used to argue with me about the Nov17 Greek terrorist group. She believed Nov17 was really an American outfit killing American, NATO and Western Capitalist targets to discredit Greek freedom fighters.
She had the honesty to at least say she was wrong after one of these Nov17 guys was caught red-handed when a bomb he was carrying went off, injuring him.