© Paul Whelan obiteljski arhivPaul Whelan
The media has a new bit of speculation that fits neatly into the flagging Russiagate narrative. It concerns Paul Whelan, a high school graduate Marine Corps dishonorable discharge, who is currently working in corporate security for a Michigan-based auto parts manufacturer. Whelan, who lives alone, is self-taught in Russian and has engaged in tourist travel to the country a number of times. He was reportedly arrested late last month in Moscow while ostensibly attending a friend's wedding and charged with espionage. Forty-eight year-old Whelan is clearly an odd duck and is notable for
having four passports - Great Britain, Ireland, Canada and that of the United States.
Press coverage of the incident has nearly unanimously decided that the spying charge against Whelan is phony and that he is being held as bait to arrange for an exchange with Maria Butina, who is in jail in Virginia after being charged with acting as an unregistered agent of the Russian government and engaging in conspiracy. The media and the usual pundits base their conclusion on absolutely no evidence whatsoever apart from their conviction that Russian President Vladimir Putin is a bad man who would do almost anything to irritate the United States and overthrow its system of government. Oddly, the press watchdogs fail to note how the current federal government is doing a damned fine job destroying itself without any assistance from the Kremlin.
If Putin really wanted to damage the US, he would be best advised to leave it alone and let Congress and the White House do the heavy lifting for him.Unlike the mainstream media,
I rather expect that the charges against Whelan could be more-or-less correct, though not in the way the press has framed the story, which is that Whelan is such a flawed character that he could not possibly meet the requirements to be working for any sophisticated spy organization. The
New York Times in its coverage of the story
interviewed several former CIA officers who had served in Russia, but asked the wrong questions. The reporter wanted to know if Whelan could possibly be an employee of US intelligence. The ex-Agency officers replied "no" because of his criminal record while a Marine and other oddities in his career, which included some marginal involvement with low-level law enforcement.
Comment: The Guardian provides more details on the DUP issue: The EU referendum was merely a ploy by the ruling UK government to maintain power, but having royally backfired it continues to expose them as the utter shambles that they are. Even the DUP, who they bought off with an offer of a billion in funding, doesn't trust them: Brexit: A Political Farce Based on a Public Lie
See also:
- 'Demented pantomime': UK govt stages no-deal Brexit 'fake traffic jam' involving 100 lorries
- Brexit underscores the case for a united Ireland
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