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April 1, 2024

The Crocus Hall Massacre, Seen from East and West

This massacre in Moscow doth bring to mind
A particular axe that yours truly must grind,
Regarding conspiracy theories, to wit,
And those who subscribe to them when the facts fit,
And if not the facts, then the most likely explain,
Which is sometimes the simplest and others the most plain.

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For far and wide among paid western scribes,
We are assured that ISIS, they of dark vibes,
(Though adding a K to denote certain strokes),
Shot up Crocus Hall and killed many folks,
The Ukes and friends having no hand in the plot,
Since that’s not what we do, that’s not what we’re taught.

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Yes, CNN, FT, the gray-babe NYT
Say such is the case, and from the facts flee
Like this ain’t a case of Tajiks sitting around,
Where rifles and firebombs and flak jackets abound,
And plan their hit in detail with a passion,
Like what shade of khaki ‘ s lately in fashion.

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No, with terror logistics they needed some aid,
And the Ukes, my goodness, that’s their stock in trade!
They launched and received them back into Ukraine*,
Since sushi’s crap in Tajik and the traffic’s a pain,
And let’s not forget their pay: five lovely long,
Which in Kiev would’ve gone far for women and song.

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But as usual with conspiracy theories informed,
Brows get wrinkled among the conventionally-normed,
Who like good sheep baa the spokesperson’s rhyme,
As absurd and thread-bare it turns out with time,
But such is the job, it’s all in a day’s work,
For money, access, and expense-account perk.

.

As C.T.s go, though, perspective is king,
As one guy’s hears pong and another hears ping,
So it shouldn’t surprise us Vlad Putin’s mad,
And sees the Crocus as not just Tajik rad,
But a Ukie op at the suggestion of friends,
Who’ll all wind up at drones’ business ends.

* «However, upon inspection it is fairly obvious that both sets of actors, Isis-K and the Ukrainian military intelligence operatives, worked cooperatively. Only in this way could a group of Tajik gunmen with poor knowledge of Russian, as we now know from the tapes of their initial interrogation posted on Russian television, and with still less knowledge of the target site have pulled off the attack and made their way out of Moscow by car, nearly reaching the Ukrainian border in the Russian province of Bryansk to the west.
» Clearly it was Ukrainian intelligence operatives who were the enablers. They speak native Russian. The Russian-Ukrainian border is porous and these operatives have established themselves within Russia in considerable numbers. They would have had ample opportunity to prepare the cache of automatic rifles and incendiary devices, to inspect the venue for attack, to learn where the security staff had their office, to find escape routes and to do all of the other preparatory and support work necessary for success. «
–Gilbert Doctorow, from his article at gilbertdoctorow.com, «WION, Indian global television, interview on consequences of the Crocus City Hall massacre«

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