Jun 3


My sources tell me the Russian ambassador in Thailand has met several times with the Thai prime minister, and has offered sweet heart deals on weapons systems, including fighter jets, in exchange for Bout.

In addition, the Russians are offering sweet heart gas and oil deals to sweeten the pot, which is a significant offer given the current market price of these fuels.

The question is, why would Bout be so valuable to the Russians, and what is it that they fear he could or would say in a court?

Jun 13


Al-Kassar was arrested in a DEA operation in June 2007 The operation was then largely replicated for the arrest of Viktor Bout earlier this year.

Al-Kassar, like Bout, had many friends in high places, and had worked for different governments, including that of the United States, when he was involved in the Iran-Contra affair.

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As the London Observer noted:

The litany of allegations against him, even aside from his links to Abu Abbas, is jaw-dropping.

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Like the Bout operation, the DEA set up a sting operation that led al-Kassar to believe he was selling weapons to the FARC in Colombia. According to the indictment in New York, al-Kassar not only agreed to sell assault rifles, RPGs and sniper rifles to the FARC with the express aim of killing Americans, he also volunteered to provide surface-to-air missles, which the sting operators had not even put on the list.

Jun 16


There were several reports, led by the Washington Post, on the rogue international smuggling network that managed to acquire blueprints for an advanced nuclear weapon.

No one knows where those blueprints were sold, or to whom. My sources in the intelligence community have suspected for several years that the network of senior Russian officials operating the criminal enterprise that Viktor Bout was a part of, had gotten ahold of at least two copies of the plans.

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The plans were found in the computer of a family of Swiss businessmen, and now destroyed by the IAEA to keep them from falling into terrorist hands. But there is no way to tell how many times the plans may have been copied and distributed.

My IC sources told me last year they suspected 10 copies of the plans-two in the hands of Bout and 8 in the hands of other parties unknown-had disappeared.

This site will provide you with information, details, and all the facts the world's governments wanted to suppress about the Victor Bout story

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Stay tuned, for the facts that shall change the way you see the world...

July 10, 2008


The ViktorFeed is now operational! The map's permanent link is here (aren't Google URLs snappy?); the raw data is available as an RSS 2.0 feed with Simple GeoRSS tags here, at least until I decide on a permanent URL. It is updated every 5 minutes.

July 01, 2008


There is some speculation that one reason Bout has evaded capture is the complicit help of certain highly placed parties in the US and EU who would be embarrassed by revelations from Bout concerning their dealings with him.

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I hope that the US manages to extradite and prosecute Bout, but the real question for me is what becomes of his empire? His older brother Sergei is nowhere near the logistics expert that Viktor has shown himself to be. Hopefully Bout’s network will fall into far less competent hands and slowly rust away. However, I can not help but suspect that Medvedev has someone else in mind to take the title of World’s Greatest Merchant of Death. If so, the threat to civilization from fourth generation warfare will continue to grow.

With "merchant of death" Viktor Bout out of the picture, who will step in to keep the international arms trade humming? How about an ex-U.S. congressman?

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Companies like Defense Solutions allow the U.S. government to circumvent regulations by contracting with an American company, which then buys arms from Eastern European countries to deliver to Iraq. The company is also planning deals with sketchier customers like the blacklisted Russian company Rosoboronexport and the government of Libya, which is still under a US arms embargo. And Weldon isn't the only Washington insider with links to the trade.

July 23, 2008


SF-based investigator Kathi Austin helped expose a notorious arms dealer and awaken the world to a key human rights struggle

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But the work Austin did to penetrate that shell and expose Bout was so notable and dramatic that Paramount Pictures announced in December 2007 that superstar Angelina Jolie would play her in a drama inspired by Bout's infamous career.

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Austin fearlessly penetrated the militia encampments, persuading exiled Hutu military leaders to disclose how they had obtained antitank grenades and high-caliber ammunition. The list included Col. Théoneste Bagosora, considered to be a chief architect of the genocide.

Jul 25


A bipartisan group of 35 legislators, led by Rep. Ed Royce (R-Ca), have written a strong letter to the prime minister of Thailand requesting that Viktor Bout be extradited quickly to the United States to stand trial.

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The first significant hearing on Bout’s extradition is scheduled for July 28. This hearing, originally scheduled for June, was delayed due to illness of one of Bout’s lawyers.