Giving Bout The Two Faced Boot

Today brings the news that famed Russian arms merchant Viktor Bout has been arrested in Thailand. Curiously, it appears that Bout was arrested on an American warrant emanating out of alleged involvement in the Columbian/Venezuelan/FARC mess that the US appears to be ginning up.

However, as Emptywheel points out, Bout has also been the friend of the US recently.

Now, Viktor Bout seems to be back at work in Iraq. According to several sources, his planes, flying under the name of an airline company, British Gulf, likely to disappear as fast as it was created, are assuring "transport of materiel" for the American army. The company's advantage, one specialist in arms trafficking reveals, relates to the nature of the Russian merchant's crews and planes: "They're accustomed to land in any kind of war zone without having a fit. And if one of their planes is shot down, there's no risk of American pilots' bodies being dragged through the streets."

I guess there are always people willing to make a buck (if they are smart, they will demand Euros); but after a while you wonder who is going to do business with this country when we really do need them. We partnered heavily with Sadaam in the 80s to suit our convenience to curb Iran, and when he indicated he wanted to reclaim what he considered to be Iraqi territory, i.e. Kuwait, we effectively told him there was no objection from the US. Then we took him out for doing so and so stigmatized him that it led to the next Bush in line invading and killing him. Now we walk hand in hand with Bout because we are too chicken to fly our own planes in Iraq, and then turn around and give Bout the boot. Pretty soon, thanks to the Bush neocons, we will be bankrupt, broke and no longer have the dollars(Euros) to buy people, and will have no friends because we are so two faced. Who will work with the US then?

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My Bullshit Detector is Beeping Like Crazy

Colombia is accusing the FARC rebels of seeking the components of a radioactive "dirty bomb" that would scatter radioactive debris over a geographic area. The charge was leveled by Colombia's vice president, Francisco Santos, at a U.N. disarmament meeting in Geneva. It upped the rhetorical ante considerably.

Santos claims that a raid against the rebel group had yielded a laptop with information that indicated the rebel terrorists were actively seeking radioactive material. "This shows that these terrorist groups, supported by the economic power provided by drug trafficking, constitute a grave threat not just to our country but to the entire Andean region and Latin America," he said in a statement that was posted in Spanish on the UN disarmament conference's Web site.

He did not indicate with whom he believed the rebels were negotiating, and offered no empirical evidence to support his claims that the rebels were seeking 50 kilograms, or 110 pounds, of uranium.

I'm not saying unequivocally that the story is entirely without merit, I'm saying the odds are about 50/50 that it is entirely without merit. Here is what is making my bullshit detector go crazy - besides the lack of supporting evidence. You don't exactly process uranium with cases of ether. It's slightly trickier than manufacturing cocaine and requires lab equipment that is a bit more sophisticated than you will find in a mobile, makeshift jungle lab.

Given the track record of lying by this administration and it's allies, the presence of American troops in Colombia and the fact that Venezuela is an OPEC member, and let's just say I need to see a hell of a lot more proof than a ranting diatribe delivered while beating frantically on the terrorist fear-drum by Colombia's vice president.

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