The Dead Spy in U.K.

[Sara Sheppard]

Can someone please explain this story to me?

Was this spy doing "good" work on behalf of England or was he a spy against England on behalf of Russia?

Do we think the Kremlin was involved in tis death? If so, what does this say about that government? How would it change relations with that government and other nations? I thought the Russian government was more "up and up" now. I feel a little lost on this story and am just wondering if anyone understands it.

I know that spys are not often working for who they seem to be and can have many enemies that they are even unaware of.
Sara

[Cindi Hammons]

I don't know much about the spy story, but I think Vladimir Putin used to be in charge of the KGB and is slowly bringing back many Pro-Communist ideas like taking away some liberties. Russia is much more democratic than it once was, but they are not our (U.S) good friends.

[Sara Sheppard]

Its getting more interesting.

The spy's wife and the man he had lunch with are both testing positive today. The news says you have to ingest it to be found positive with it. If that is the case.....is this a form of terrorism?

Sara

[Judy Hamilton]

Read this..and wonder what it is that V. Putin
and Russia are hiding?? Is this behavior just genitic to
"cold war" era Russia ...and why or what is so imortant to hide
from the world??
questions without answers (http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/12/04/spy.who/index.html)

[Brad Mercer]

The short answer, from the news reports, is that his death was an assassination ordered by the leader of Russia because he was a critic of Russia, exposing some of its current cruel totalitarian practices against its own people.

Can someone please explain this story to me?

Was this spy doing "good" work on behalf of England or was he a spy against England on behalf of Russia?

Do we think the Kremlin was involved in tis death? If so, what does this say about that government? How would it change relations with that government and other nations? I thought the Russian government was more "up and up" now. I feel a little lost on this story and am just wondering if anyone understands it.

I know that spys are not often working for who they seem to be and can have many enemies that they are even unaware of.
Sara

[Hans Deventer]

The short answer, from the news reports, is that his death was an assassination ordered by the leader of Russia because he was a critic of Russia, exposing some of its current cruel totalitarian practices against its own people.

Yes. I have to say though that the Iraq situation has left me wondering if democracy is the best answer for each country. Sometimes, it seems an evil dictator might be the lesser of two evils. Now the problem is of course to decide at forehand which is which.

[Brad Mercer]

Well, I'm completely convinced that voluntarily cooperative freedom and respect for the value of each individual is an absolutely universally better thing than coercive totalitarian control that sees only the collective mass. The problem is that you don't transform a population from the former to the latter by simply kicking out a dictator and holding a real election.

The struggle for individual liberty and empowerment in the U.S. began with the Magna Carta in, what 1215? It continued to evolve through Cromwell, revolutions of various names like Bloodless and Glorious, through the American revolution, the American Civil War, early 20th Century constitutional amendments to allow direct election of Senators and women's suffrage, through to the mid-20th century constitutional amendment eliminating the poll tax.

I think it was never likely that Russia would make a quick, smooth transition from the undeveloped totalitarian dictatorship that it always was, under both the Czars and the communists, to a smoothly functioning prosperous democracy. Even at their current worst, events like this assassination seem to indicate that at least they aren't as competent at evil as they used to be. That's got to be a marginally good thing. A second point, it seems to me, is that a dictator who cares only about power is at least marginally less destructive than a utopian dictator. Finally, a little economic and press freedom here and there is better than none at all. What they have still looks to me like two steps forward and only one step back, and that's probably as much as can reasonably be hoped for in only 15 years from the collapse of communism.

Brad

Yes. I have to say though that the Iraq situation has left me wondering if democracy is the best answer for each country. Sometimes, it seems an evil dictator might be the lesser of two evils. Now the problem is of course to decide at forehand which is which.