ByMyReckoning

This morning the BBC reported that British police had found evidence of low levels of radioactivity on three aeroplanes (one of which is still in Moscow and will be flown back to the UK) which are connected with the investigation into Alexander Litvinenko's death.

Apparently these planes have been used by associates or other people who have come into contact with Litvinenko in the five week period leading up to his death.

This case is becoming increasingly strange. The early conclusions drawn by the media are probably too obvious. The Independant newspaper in London has pointed out that British security services don't think things are necessarily what they appear to be.

Exactly how one of President Putin's fiercest critics came to ingest polonium remains unanswered. Scotland Yard is not officially treating this as a murder inquiry but as an "unexplained death", and intelligence sources have told The Independent on Sunday that they have doubts over the former spy's version of how he first became ill.

There seem to be four main theories in circulation;

• 1. Rogue FSB agents punishing a former member for breaking ranks.
• 2. Kremlin sponsored assassination.
• 3. Boris Berezovsky the exiled Oligarch assasinating a former ally to create a martyr for their anti-Kremlin cause.
• 4. Litvinenko poisoned himself.

Observations on each of the above:

• 1. On the face of it the FSB theary seems the most likely candidate given the information we have.
  
• 2. Would the KGB or Kremlin really be so clumsy and transparent in their methods as the details of this case appear to suggest?
• 3. It's not clear why would Berezovsky kill an ally?
• 4. There are easier and less painful ways to kill yourself.

Additionallly:

• Who says Cold War Bond movie plots are outdated?
• I thought we were supposed to be worried about nuclear terrorism from Al-Qaeda?

Technorati Tags:
Alexander Litvinenko, polonium-210, polonium, FSB, KGB, Boris Berezovsky