Russia, Georgia, U.S.: Michael Lee White's Passport

LJ user olegpanfilov2 links (RUS) to a newspaper story (ENG) on Michael Lee White, a China-based U.S. citizen whose passport was allegedly stolen “during a flight from Moscow to New York” in Dec. 2005. Last week, “a Russian general […] displayed a blown-up photo” of the passport and claimed that it was found in Georgia. PM Putin said in a CNN interview that “the passport gave him reason to suspect U.S. military involvement in the Russia-Georgia conflict over South Ossetia.”

12 comments

  • Thanks Veronica,

    Your above summary is the first and thusfar only account of this nonsense non-story that is entirely without false information.

    ‘LJ user olegpanfilov2 links (RUS) to a newspaper story (ENG) on Michael Lee White, a China-based U.S. citizen whose passport was allegedly stolen “during a flight from Moscow to New York” in Dec. 2005. Last week, “a Russian general […] displayed a blown-up photo” of the passport and claimed that it was found in Georgia. PM Putin said in a CNN interview that “the passport gave him reason to suspect U.S. military involvement in the Russia-Georgia conflict over South Ossetia.”’

    Sincerly,
    Michael White
    Guangzhou, China

  • Trausti

    entirely without false information

    … let me read that again…

    entirely without false information

    ….

    Well, that actually means ENTIRELY TRUE. If it is WITHOUT false information, it has to be true.

    Thanks for the clarification Mike!
    ========================================================
    Your above summary is the first and thusfar only account of this nonsense non-story that is entirely without false information.

    Sincerly,
    Michael White
    Guangzhou, China
    ========================================================

  • Eugene

    This account not complete.

    In fact Putin in the interview did not mention passport but said: “We have serious reasons to believe that US citizens were directly in the combat zone. If it is confirmed it is very bad.”

    But he did not mention any passports.

    Late the spokesmen of Ministry of Defense demonstrated copy of passport of Michael Lee White found in a Georgian Special Forces held building in combat zone.

    Russian newspapers:
    http://www.redstar.ru/2008/08/30_08/1_03.html
    and television:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iyuzd4MSCAU
    (both references in Russian)

    reported words of Russian Ministry of Defense spokesman general Nogovitsin:
    “Ministry of Defense have no information what this citizen of the USA done in the Georgian-Osetian zone but it is certain that he was among Georgian Special Forces”.

    This story is very widely discussed in Russian blogs, that speculate upon information that also Michael L. White may be now in Guangzhou there are no evidence about his whereabouts on August 7 – August 13 when fighting in Osetia occur.
    Also some point to the fact in his resume about his military training in Air Assault school and service in Bosnia.

  • Yuriy

    >China-based U.S. citizen whose passport was allegedly
    >stolen “during a flight from Moscow to New York”
    “allegedly” stolen passport??? ha-ha… and his passport wasn’t in database of stolen passports? Can anybody believe that this China-based U.S. citizen was so silly not to tell the police about stolen passport?

  • Eugene

    Yuriy, you are misinformed.

    State Department stated to the journalists that passport has been duly reported as stolen and has been canceled in 2005.

  • Yuriy

    >Yuriy, you are misinformed.
    Really?
    You don’t know history. First Russia officially ask USA about this passport… There was no answer. Next, Russia ask by television: “Who is Michael Lee??” I’ve seen it on our channels… May be CNN or BBC didn’t want to find Michael Lee and didn’t inform you about it? But there was no answer…
    After that Russian found some information:
    http://www.life.ru/media/content/0808/46052f51d4b27489613f32078f66ca7a.jpg
    This is a short information about who is Michael Lee.

    So he is a professional soldier. And only after this USA said, that this passport was lost. Where was USA, when Russia ask it about Michael Lee???

  • M.J. Mawson

    Well we do know that Randy Scheunemann and his entourage was there helping create this “let’s get them all to vote for McCain” situation and saving Chevron and BP’s bacon….why not Michael et al. We’d have to be fools not to know we’ve been assisting Georgia. His family need to provide the better proof than a statement saying he was nursing his father and here in the States..if he was then his timing was very inconvenient, no?

  • Columbo

    One interesting point is this: The passport the Russians have issued October 2001 and due to expire October 2011. MLW claims to have lost this passport in December 2005 and yet his current passport was issued in November 2005.

  • Eugene

    what is the source of information about “his current passport was issued in November 2005”?

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