This seems to be aimed at causing trouble for Putin rather than vice versa.
On the other hand, if you cause trouble for Putin, you are inviting trouble for yourself in three ways: retaliation, blowback, and karma. But I guess that's the deal these assholes signed up for.
Consider this: Oil leverage - advantage Putin; Media propaganda - advantage "the west." The timing of the EU-Russia summit is important, I think. Though I don't buy the angle that drawing attention to Litvinenko's exposes of Putin's self-inflicted terror operations, pedo predilections and assassination would shock or sway anyone in power in Europe. At the important levels, they are aware of these things (as slow dazzle mentions in her/his last.) But in these meetings, politicians can appeal to "public perception" as a strong card in their deck. If "western" public perception is that Putin's Russia is a tyrannical, conspiratorial terrorist state (which it is), it aids anglo-american-eu negotiators, whether they care about these facts or not - probably not, since they themselves are involved in the very same things as Putin. Thus they can count on the fact that the necessary media attention will focus on the conspiratorial nature of all things "over there," rather than on the stuff under their own hoods. Advantage: The West. Never mind all the spooky back channels and deals ensuing.
As HMW speculates, perhaps it was indeed a self-hit-job contracted out at the behest of the CIA / M16 / anti-Putin / Russian oligarch mafia ex-pat crowd, the same pals Litvinenko had been running with, with some degree of plausible deniability built-in. Run with a dirty crowd, don't be surprised they sacrifice you to achieve aims you had also supported.
I would just add that this does not preclude the likelihood that Putin's boys really are/were out to get Litvinenko and pals, with much more subtle plans in place. Only Litvinenko's pals pre-empted Putin's plans by offing one of their own in a very deliberate way.
Professor Mario Scaramella's very detailed and generous account of events at lunch with Litvinenko seem suspiciously calculated.
"I was with him for maybe 30-45 minutes. We were downstairs and there were no other people there.
"I had already had lunch so I had nothing to eat - and had a glass of water.
"Mr Litvinenko had some fish from a buffet and some soup was brought to us. He personally took his food from the buffet. I paid for the bill, as I recall it was about £17."
(...)
He also described how there was a strong connection between the Russian Mafia and the former KGB as well as their replacement intelligence service the FSB and SVR.
But on a deeper, darker level, something else is going on which is hard to grasp. Maybe the pedo thing, as Jeff posted, is a deeper undercurrent, serving to balance the blackmail on all sides of this Coldcorpse War.
They are ALL dirty bastards all of 'em with plans concocted and guns aimed at each other to cover and manage their abuse of regular people like us. Why do Xymphora and Justin Raimondo appear to take sides on this?
