Russia Accused of Plotting to Place Incendiary Devices on U.S.-Bound Flights

The Wall Street Journal has an exclusive report today containing immensely serious allegations against the Russian government. Before getting into it, it’s important to note that a classic legitimate critique of mainstream American journalism is their reliance on “intelligence sources say” in their reports where they do not call what they say a statement of fact, but for all intents and purposes, treat them like one. This has led to calamitous outcomes like the New York Times helping to launder Defense Department propaganda in leading us to war in Iraq in 2003.

So it’s understandable that in the wake of 2016, when the hysteria around Russia doing what it has always done arose, that many see headlines like this accusing Russia of anything and furrow their brow as they hear the Iraq War drumbeats in the background. There are absolutely elements of the American government and media who would love to indulge the war machine’s worst instincts and topple the United States’ biggest foreign adversary. It’s important that we be on guard against this mission creep and not start World War III over what mostly has amounted to high-grade shitposting so far.

But this is a real story that is a lot more serious than just some garbage on Facebook or artificially inflating the right-wing echo chamber. It is supported by public statements from intelligence officials, confirmed events by WSJ and others, as well as arrests made and charges filed by the Polish government. Add in the fact that “Russia messes with the United States” is about as common a headline as “man breathes air” and it’s easy to believe a wide range of allegations against a government who has historically prodded the U.S. better than anyone.

First, according to this WSJ report, we know that there were “two incendiary devices, shipped via DHL,” because they “ignited at DHL logistics hubs in July, one in Leipzig, Germany, and another in Birmingham, England.”

Second, we know that “investigators and spy agencies in Europe have figured out how the devices—electric massagers implanted with a magnesium-based flammable substance—were made and concluded that they were part of a wider Russian plot.”

Third, Poland’s National Prosecutor’s Office arrested four people and “charged them with participating in sabotage or terrorist operations on behalf of a foreign intelligence agency,” and the prosecutor’s office said that “the group’s goal was also to test the transfer channel for such parcels, which were ultimately to be sent to the United States of America and Canada.”

The National Prosecutor’s Office did not, however, allege which foreign intelligence agency was behind this group’s efforts. This is where we turn into spookville. The head of Poland’s foreign-intelligence agency, Pawel Szota, said that Russian spies were behind the attack and that “I’m not sure the political leaders of Russia are aware of the consequences if one of these packages exploded, causing a mass casualty event.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was asked for comment by the WSJ and he said, “these are traditional unsubstantiated insinuations from the media,” which is a bit of a curious statement from someone who typically is more forceful in their denials. This is not an insinuation, this is a full-blown finger-pointed-at-the-Kremlin allegation, and it is not coming from the media.

It is on the record from high-ranking intelligence officials, as The Journal noted that in the months after this explosion at a DHL logistics hub, Richard Moore, the head of the U.K.’s MI6, said that Russian spy agencies had “gone a bit feral in some of their behavior.” Ken McCallum, the head of MI5, their domestic spy agency, said that the Kremlin’s spy services are on a  “sustained mission to generate mayhem.”

This summer, seven people were accused by U.K. authorities of setting fire to a London warehouse owned by a Ukrainian businessman, allegedly paid for by Russian intelligence. The U.K. also believes that Russia is behind a fire at a Berlin factory that builds air-defense systems, and they are investigating a litany of arson attacks in the Baltics and Eastern Europe in the past months.

Things are happening. Someone is behind them, and Russia is a likely culprit. You don’t need spooks to tell you that, you can just open any 20th century history book and see the echoes of this kind of chaos and how easily it maps on to the current geopolitical chess board in Europe.

But attempting to put explosive devices on airplanes headed to the United States is a dramatic escalation. Setting fire to a factory in Europe that makes air defenses could be construed as an act within the confines of the war. Creating a mass casualty event over U.S. skies and evoking images of 9/11 is a reckless escalation of it. It is how Putin and his cronies can invite an attack inside of Russia, as America’s most depraved hawks beating the drums of war and looking to lie about Russian malfeasance at every turn would finally get the credibility they will never earn on their own.

Could all these Western intelligence officials be lying about who is behind these events? Sure, it wouldn’t be the first time. And as former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper famously proved by demonstrating for the world what an obvious poker tell looks like, being under oath won’t stop our most powerful intelligence officials from lying to us either. The intelligence world is one big dark forest where everyone is manipulating you in some way, shape, or form.

But we know a package exploded at a DHL factory, and we know that there has been a spate of arson attacks across Europe within the same timeframe. All while Russia is bogged down in a proxy war against Europe and the U.S. in Ukraine. This is likely what it looks like, and this is far from an Iraq War situation given the verifiable evidence and actual criminal charges made in multiple countries so far. We don’t know a whole lot about what is going on behind the scenes with Russia and the U.S. right now, but we do know the world is a more dangerous place today than it was yesterday as a result of it.