Very interesting article on Mirzayanov, but a few points:
1) When he says the activity declines over time during storage, I think he’s referring to storage in the binary form, though I’m not sure. If so, then someone would have had to make it relatively recently, i.e., in the past ten years or so.
2) He emphasizes the difficult of “weaponizing” it. No doubt that’s true if you want to use it in a safe and efficient manner. But surely it could be done in a crude fashion by having the two components mixed in a simple sprayer.
3) He doesn’t address the apparent delayed reaction, why the Skripals apparently were exposed to the agent prior to being on the park bench. Another possibility. in addition to the clothing contamination I suggested before. is that if the two components were mixed crudely in a sprayer, the mixing would have been inefficient, and perhaps the amount of active agent actually sprayed much less than what had been planned. OTOH, if it had been sprayed at all, i would think the Skripals would have been aware of this, and would have called for help, not gone to a park bench. I guess it would be possible to spray a small amount on their clothing without being noticed, though.
I also find it interesting that Corbyn raised the third party possibility (which Mirzayanov rejects) because as I said before, I’m quite sure British Intelligence would have considered that possibility. Maybe in fact they talked to Mirzayanov before telling May their conclusion.
With regard to Mac’s link, Murray’s article, I’m sure there are several countries that possess at least small quantities of every nerve agent they can get their hands on. Why? Because you need them in order both to identify and develop an antidote to any agent that your military might be exposed to.This is an active field of research, as shown, e.g., by a link I posted upthread.
I agree with Murray (what he’s implying) that there should have been an independent investigation before announcing any blame. I would have thought May would have welcomed the chance to postpone making any ultimatums, then having to back them up. I'm really mystified why the Brits would plunge into this very awkward situation when they could have delayed the blame game. I understand there was public pressure to announce the cause of death, and once it was determined it was a nerve agent, to say something more to show their concern for public safety, but the government did not have to come up with a firm conclusion within a week.
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