DISINFO: Russia's accusation of Skripal poisoning is a deadcatting strategy
SUMMARY
What happened in Salisbury on March 4, 2018? A year later, the British have not yet provided a clear explanation. But the answer to the question “why is all this necessary?” is now obvious. This is part of the “dead cat” strategy, explained by former British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson. When someone is being defeated in an argument, the best thing to do is to “throw a dead cat on the table” said Johnson. This produces a clear effect: it attracts attention and makes everyone scream – distracting from the real problems.
RESPONSE
Boris Johnson indeed spoke about a "dead cat", but it was 5 years before the Skripals’ poisoning, on 3 March 2013, while talking about the euro. Straight after the poisoning of the Skripals, Boris Johnson pointed the finger at Russian President Vladimir Putin as "overwhelmingly likely" to be responsible: "Our quarrel is with Putin's Kremlin and with his decision, and we think it is overwhelmingly likely that it was his decision to direct the use of a nerve agent on the streets of the U.K." Johnson said. British police have presented a solid chain of evidence about the Skripal's poisoning by the highly toxic nerve agent Novichok, including pictures, that connect the two suspects to particular locations involved in the case. Parts of the material have been released to the public. Independent investigative media outlets Belligcat and The Insider recently identified a third GRU agent involved in the Salisbury operation, in addition to the other two identified before. More disinformation cases on the Skripal poisoning can be seen here.