Despite all the evidence of a pattern of conspiratorial killings of journalists attempting to report on Russian corruption I was surprised this morning when I heard a comment on the GMA news segment saying we should not assume conspiracy! Looking at the various "accidents" how could one help but suspect that this is the case?

I fear for the people of Russia.
"High crime in the area"....nice try with 14 journalists dying under questionable circumstances.
Citizens are being prevented from protesting Putin. They are being denied freedom of assembly and free speech through deception and force and it appears if you know too much, death.
What's next? Another wall?

Do you really think Putin's government is behind this, or is it some other force at play to discredit Russia vis a vis their position NOT to bomb Iran??

Because as soon as people start becoming generally skeptical - even if it's just about Russian corruption - they'll begin to apply that same skepticism to American politics.

That's when things would get interesting.

Yes, it is hard to believe that anyone would commit cold blooded murder. But Putin...everyone forgets he was head of the KGB and we all know how "innocent" they are. Of course, our CIA is just as "innocent" as the KGB.

I'd be scared to death (literally) if I was a journalist in Russia and even thought about saying anything critical of the government. Czar Vladimir I is alive and well...

DEMOCRATIC COUNTRIES should call for an independent inquiry into these attacks. This has become an international problem, and the Russian authorities have a very poor success rate in solving these crimes. It's one thing to murder your own critics, but it's another thing to murder critics who are citizens of other countries.

I completely agree with L2's comments and found it rather humerous to hear that as well this morning on GMA. With Russia and China still in pseudo-defense of Iran and most things related, it came as no surprise that the mainstream media would take that stance. Whether it be fed down from the State Department, the Bush Administration, or any other domestic or international entity, noone except the related human rights organizations would raise even the semblance of a red flag over any of the incidents involved. All the Middle East needs is for Russia to formally decide to put all stock/pressure in Iran, and create a plethera of colorful international situations for Mr. Bush to publicly flub and disgrace his, if not our, way through in the coming months. Given all that has occured regarding Journalismm in Russia recently, it will be interesting to see who takes the reins after Mr. Putin steps down, and what gets turned up after he has left.

How many U.S. reporters would be dead now if they were as aggressive as their Russian counterparts?

You don't have to be a blind conservative not to see it, just an ignorant one to deny it.

Add this:

"Expert in Russian poisoning case is shot FBI joins investigation, but officials think it’s just local crime"

just a local crime...

Riiiiiggggghhhhht....

The dead reporters were trying to
say publicly what everyone knows
privately, that Russia under
Putin is operated by robber baron
capitalists and organized crime.
No wonder their population is
crashing!

But I thought Bush looked into Putin's soul, and it was all good?

Putin was never head of the KGB, you're thinking of Andropov, a truly evil man who pushed the world the closest it's ever come to thermonuclear holocaust in 1983.

It's obvious Putin is behind it. Connect the dots: first, Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya, a prominent critic of the Vladimir Putin administration, is murdered in Moscow. Then Litvinenko, who was apparently investigating Anna's death. These people don't mess around.

"a comment on the GMA news segment saying we should not assume conspiracy"

All the world's media is run by either Rupert Murdoch or Murdoch-wannabes.

JimO.

Putin was in fact the head of the KGB. I thought it was common knowledge by know

Putin WAS head of the FSB - the successor of the KGB:

On July 25, 1998 Yeltsin appointed Vladimir Putin Head of the FSB (the successor agency to the KGB), the position Putin occupied until August 1999. He became a permanent member of the Security Council of the Russian Federation on October 1, 1998 and its Head on March 29, 1999.

It's only a diversion to make Putin look bad. Like with the poisoned spy - he was killed by his own kind. And another post was correct, "it is too obvious." DUH
Putin is not behind the killings. My husband was also part of the KGB . . . you're right - they are equivalent to our CIA. The FBI are the incompetent ones. You have more to thank the CIA and KGB for than you can ever imagine. Russia has flourished under Putin's leadership. Please remember that the "evil" started under Yeltsin's watch.

FSB, KGB, GRU, NKVD, OGPU -- keep 'em separate in your minds and hearts (grin). As they say, it ain't what you don't know what makes you look like a fool, it's what you DO know what ain't so.

We don't know enough yet about Safronov's death, but the little we THINK we know -- most of which is probably, as usual, haste-induced garble, certainly could be disturbing, if it were worthy of belief.

That worthiness will come, thanks to a hard-core of courageous journalists in Moscow, who are fighting our fight and everyone's, viz., the struggle to understand rather than propagandize.

I will eat my hat if Putin steps aside quietly in a free, fair and timely election. But I really don't see that happening. There's just too much at stake right now. Mark my words - Putin is staying put - for the good of Russia.

Not long ago we feared powerful central governments who ruled with massive police forces within their borders. Now we fear small groups of highly skilled thugs who roam freely and cause terror.

Of course when I report this I will mention it is not a conspiracy. I would never think Putin would have anything to do with this. If I said otherwise…I would currently fear for my life! They are all independent and unrelated deaths and hopefully by saying this I am not put on the long list of those who must be dealt with.

What Bush saw in Putin's soul WAS all good. Good for the NWO agenda.

As long as Putin maintains his high popularity amoung the Russian people, who the hell cares? It's their country, let them run it as they wish.

Americans...always sticking their noses where they don't belong.

Its 14 journalists over 5 years, not 14 murders in 1 year and considering the murder rate in Russia just for regular people I dont see why people see a Kremlin conspiracy in all this. Safranov was a pro-Putin journalist by all measures too, he was not a liberal. His run in with the FSB ended well when he revealed he used open sources for the article that he was questioned over. The Russian army actually loved him, he was a retired colonel and various generals today sent condolences to his family. The head of Russian strategic aviation even talked about him during his press conference today. All indications are that in his case this really was a suicide. A neighbor saw him walking up the stairs but going 2 floors above where his apartment was. He then went out the window.

The killing of journalists is a problem. However, judgment needs to be reserved until investigations into the problems is completed. Right now a lot of the questionable murders are purely speculative. No American court of law could convict Putin based on the circumstansial evidence that exists. However, it is something the UN and other organizations, NOT JUST THE US, need to look into.

Hey Yuri, may be it was suicide, and crime in Maryland suburbia is awful, and elevator executions could have been a simple gun cleaning accident, and Litvenenco's poisoning could have been self-inducedto discredit poor Putin.

A dangerous chapter will begin if American's begin to have such politically motivated suspicious circumstances. Someone should warn Putin to show some restraint before he begins targeting Americans. We can be such innovators in a pinch.

It is fascinating that people here are trying to claim that this is a plot to discredit Putin or that journalists in the U.S. would be facing the same threats if they were aggressive. Get real people. If you had ever been to Russia you would know what totalitarianism was really like.

Too many deaths to think that all these are just random acts that occur. I can see it now, Putin setting in his smoke filled room being filled in by his associates regarding the success of the mission. Very clearly, evil deeds are occuring under Putin regime.

Me thinks there's a sickness out there. Me thinks that unbridled hatred has poisoned their minds.

is it posible that he was trying to catch birds?

i live near where paul joyal was shot, and "high crime" in the area being the cause of his death is not true. PG county does have its crime problems, but not where he was killed, plus his wallet wasnt stolen or anything...