This story should not be so obscure. British PM today: if there is no credible response, we will concludes this was a use of force by Russia on the territory of the U.K.<p>That proposes the possibility Putin has lost control of chemical weapons, even though what is most likely a deliberate attack against a perceived traitor. These kinds of attacks will only get more brazen. Any politician aligned with Russia is at increasing risk of being seen as a traitor if they become critical of Putin. Why not kill some politician's daughter if they speak out against Putin? The UK has let this slide too far, so has the EU, and certainly the U.S. has said nothing about it.<p>Maybe we see Putin do Trump a favor with Manafort, should he end up cooperating with Mueller? Trump gets what he wants twice: the Manafort problem goes away, and by telling CIA to do nothing about it, damages the "deep state" he distrusts. We end up with a tacit acceptance of political assassinations on American soil. It is the czarification of western civilization.<p>I guess people need a taste of authoritarianism to understand the problem. In the meantime they are all too pleased with their distractions.