Prigozhin’s death: Blatant disinformation vs thoughtful speculation

In the case of this news, the only firm, bona fides news, is that—apparently—Prigozhin died in a plane crash on Aug 23. Period. That's all you can bank on at this point since the investigation is just beginning. We don't know yet for certain if it was a bomb, a missile or simply an accident, all possible. Everything else—particularly who to blame— is speculation, opinion, and should be labeled as such. But, observe, that's NOT what CBS does in this case. Using the cui bono argument, and virtually drooling at this opportunity, the CBS presstitutes, lacking evidence, roll out their "influential voices", which include dubious characters like Leon Panetta, a man who, to this day, proudly proclaims that Putin did it. Or so they pretend, for such people cannot be trusted to have their own firm opinions about anything. No puppet ever does.

But here's the rub: for all their noise, the cui bono argument in this case actually points in several almost equally compelling directions. Aside from the Kremlin, which may have been immensely uncomfortable with Prigozhin's reckless and disruptive actions, the man had many enemies, foreign and domestic. The Kiev regime, the US and France (never shy about murdering people around the globe), immediately stand out in the foreign category. Neither Washington nor Paris can be said to have been enamoured of Prigozhin's antics. On the domestic front, some leads are also rather obvious. Think, for example, about disgruntled people inside Wagner itself (known to exist), a faction excellently positioned to pull off a sabotage stunt on his plane. And there's another circle of very plausible suspects—influential co-conspirators in the June coup attempt (either oligarchs unhappy with the direction Putin is taking Russia, or even disaffected military officers), who may have been nervous about Prigozhin spilling the beans, hence their interest in silencing him for good. Dead men don't tell tales, do they?

Alex Mercouris, in his video below, patiently dissects most of these possibilities. And he presents his discussion as speculation, the honest thing to do. CBS and their ilk should learn something from this citizen turned people's journalist. But we all know they never will. As Upton Sinclair put it: "It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on his not understanding it." —PG