Opinion: Agencies should wait for more info

Most conspiracy theories are based on kernels of truth.

This is true for the terrorist attack that occurred in Moscow on March 23 and resulted in more than 100 deaths.

The U.S. government issued a statement asserting it provided a warning to the Russian government, that the Russians failed to heed, which led to the loss of life.

A public statement was issued by the U.S. Department of State on March 7 that read, “The Embassy is monitoring reports that extremists have imminent plans to target large gatherings in Moscow, to include concerts, and U.S. citizens should be advised to avoid large gatherings over the next 48 hours.”

While most western media have aired the warning, they have omitted the fact that the warning had a threshold of 48 hours. Is a warning ending on March 9 valid through March 23?

Less than an hour after the attack, prior to any investigation being instigated, Western governments began releasing statements that the assault was conducted by ISIS K and that Ukraine was not implicated in the attack. The assertions implied that no further investigation was required. However, a number of statements made by supposedly knowledgeable people over a period of several months can lead neutral readers to question whether another government entity may have been involved.

These include former chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley on Dec. 4 telling a group of Ukrainian special operators, “There should be no Russian who goes to sleep without wondering if they’re going to get their throat slit in the middle of the night.”

Additionally, former Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Newland on a recent visit to Kiev said, “Mr. Putin is going to get some nice surprises on the battlefield and Ukraine will make some very strong success.”

Finally, a few hours after the event, former Secretary of National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Oleksiy Danilov is quoted as saying, “It is fun in Moscow today, I think it’s a lot of fun. I would like to believe that we will arrange such fun for them more often.”

Did Ukraine have any connection to the Moscow terrorist attack of March 23? I don’t know, but I believe that intelligence agencies should have waited more than one hour to determine who had responsibility for the assault. Especially since those same agencies don’t know who blew up the Nord Stream Pipeline more than a year later.

Rube Render is a former Clovis city commissioner and former chair of the Curry County Republican Party. Contact him:

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