Global Research

Grenfell fire 14th June 2016 took at least 71 lives with many hundreds more injured. Most deaths and injuries from inhalation of toxic gas from the polymer combustible foam and cladding. Evidence of the toxicity all too self-evident in the black choking smoke pouring from the building.

In now near a year we have an inquiry running its course but no general outrage from government directed at the international combustible cladding industry. To this day material types used on Grenfell (polymer foams) still being used on high rises.

Look now at the poisoning of two Russian emigres in Salisbury 4th March using toxic nerve agents and government could not be more hysterical – threats issued to Russia long before conclusive uncontroversial evidence is established.

Toxic combustible cladding that kills over seventy residents in their own homes and inquiries are “to take their course” over some years, two emigres poisoned by toxic nerve gas and UK is near at war within a week with the suspected “responsible” host country.

The clamour “It’s Russia” with ultimatums leaves me with the very strong view the attacks on the Skripals were not conducted by Russia.  The evidence to support this:

How possibly could UK chemical nerve agent investigators determine the toxic agent is “Russian” Novichok ? To “know” it is “Novichok” must mean the UK has access to the chemical formulae to know what it is.

Of all the locations in the UK is it just sheer coincidence the attack on Skripals was in Salisbury, seven miles from UK’s central and only nerve agent research establishment at Porton Down ?

Is it just sheer coincidence that this attack takes place two weeks before the Russian presidential election with factions in the UK and USA determined to set back “strong man” Putin in every way possible ?

And three months before the Football World Cup – every opportunity for Russia to build detente (as DPRK did at Pyeongchang) and celebrate their country on the world stage but as it is UK government has been hardly able to wait with glee to announce government and royalty will not attend.

And the worst of UK outrage, jumping to conclusions with no presented evidence “It must be the Russia”, which then begs the question if Russia did want to eliminate a former double agent (a traitor to their country) would they use a unique nerve gas that can be traced back to Russia?

Is it not far more plausible this is the work of a state, or agency, that wants so steer UK and Western public outrage at Russia? And of course this would then be a re-run of 2003 Iraq WMD “weapons of mass destruction” – bare faced lies from US and UK intelligence agencies to justify invasion of Iraq.

And to keep in mind July 2003 UK government scientist David Kelly, senior WMD expert who had made it clear in media there was no evidence of mass chemical weapons in Iraq (as Hans Blix head of the UN inspection team also made clear), was then found dead in a wood. There never was to this day a coroner led public inquest.

In this case now with the Skripals, Theresa May along with the government front bench are far too hysterical. It’s all coming over far to plotted. The only factions to gain from this the neo-liberal anti-Russian blocks in the US and UK. Certainly not Russia which then points to prime suspect the UK and US.

Having bombed Iraq and Afghanistan cities near flat with hundreds of thousands of war casualties, together with so many US led espionage attacks over many decades back to Vietnam and Korea, it’s impossible to believe it is not well within the remit of MI6 and CIA to carry out as necessary an espionage attack, in our own country. And in that mobilize huge sections of uncritical media happy to pump out any “exciting” sensationalism that will hold up sales.

The fact is the heart of intelligence espionage is wrong-footing. Casting your adversary in the wrong. UK now claiming the toxin is Novichok and could have come from “no-where else but Russia” is just not plausible. How can government possibly claim research laboratories such as Porton Down cannot replicate the toxin when the whole raison d’etre for such laboratories is to replicate nerve agents and find antidotes.

The only way forward now has to be an International inspection – as it seems both Russia and UK have asked – from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. As it stands I can’t see UK government led hysteria as anything but one more Western rally cry to take on the Crimea and Ukraine issues – and in that throughout the West taking no note that large parts of Russian speaking Ukraine including Crimea have been part of Russia going back centuries.

As ever from right wing neo-liberals in UK and US: “We judge and condemn: we don’t do historical context and relevance. We don’t do clear public evidence.” Study all that has been said by the May government to date and, beyond the clear fact that some chemical agents have been in use causing grievous damage, for the rest all I see and read are assertions, not evidence.