British Intelligence and the Latest Destabilization Efforts in Georgia Amid Failures in Ukraine?

A BBC investigation alleging the use of a World War I-era chemical agent during Georgia’s 2024 protests has escalated into a major information war episode, exposing deep geopolitical tensions, contested narratives, and a fierce struggle over Georgia’s political direction.

At a moment when geopolitical narratives are increasingly weaponised, the recent dispute over an alleged World War I-era chemical agent being used during Georgia’s 2024 protests has opened a new front in the information war in Georgia and the region. The BBC’s allegations, Georgian officials’ forceful denials, and the swift politicization of the findings have unfolded against a backdrop of shifting Western strategy, tensions around Russia’s SMO in Ukraine and its ongoing success, and growing pressure on Georgia’s internal affairs and international standing.

Regardless of whether the claims ultimately stand or fall and how the ledger of truth and innocence is decided, the episode has already become a proxy for larger battles over influence, credibility, and intent - and it is within this charged environment that the breaking story now demands closer scrutiny.

Timing is everything!

It should come as no surprise that, with the latest news about Russia’s SMO in Ukraine, NATO and American policy failures, the never-ending genocide in Gaza, and the Israeli provoked war spreading to the West Bank, Lebanon, and beyond, NATO and its inner circle are closing ranks in a damage control mood - and not out of strategic depth but political survival. It comes close to the comparison of rats escaping a sinking ship, as they [the rats] have finally realized that it is a hopeless situation for Western hegemony.

Coincidence or not, and just in the place that is essential to Western efforts to start a new bonfire on the border of the Russian Federation, and just in the nick of time. And to drive home the message, BBC, which gives us the level of the CNN effort, i.e., Black Hawk Down, from the mouthpiece of the ‘has been’ British Empire, which is leading the charge.

It is high time to connect the dots! It is all across both Georgian and international news: WW1 toxic compound sprayed on Georgian protesters. BBC evidence suggests it was probably just tear gas, which was first used in WW1, and BBC and various experts are hyping it up. The motivation for spinning such a blatant claim should be clear.

I doubt it to be true, and I don’t trust the BBC. But remember, Europeans, the very ones who claim their moral superiority are the very ones with the most sordid track records and reputations for spinning the truth out of habit.

The main allegation is that, after a year-long investigation by the BBC Eye, police in Georgia used chemicals mixed in water cannons against its own citizens during anti-government protests in 2024. Contrary to popular belief, CS gas is not actually a gas but a white crystalline solid at room temperature. When used in a spray form (the “liquid version”), the solid is dissolved in an organic solvent, most commonly methyl isobutyl ketone (MiBK) or methylene chloride.

How the “Liquid Version” Works

2-chlorobenzylidene malononitrile, which is a solid that needs a dispersal agent to be effective. It can be deployed in several ways:

As a Liquid Spray (Aerosol): This is the “liquid version” typically used in handheld canisters by law enforcement. The solid CS is suspended in the solvent. When sprayed, the volatile solvent evaporates quickly in the air, leaving fine, solid CS particles to irritate the eyes, nose, mouth, and lungs.

In Water Cannons: It can also be mixed into a solution in water for use in water cannons.

The liquid is used to temporarily incapacitate individuals by causing intense tearing, a burning sensation, coughing, and difficulty breathing, with effects generally wearing off within 30 minutes of moving to fresh air; however, if clothing is saturated, as with the use of water cannons, the effects will continue until the clothing is removed and the skin is thoroughly washed. This all matches closely with the statements by the Western-backed protesters, and it is almost certain that they are simply suffering the effects of exposure to CS. If this is a “crime,” then the US, UK, and EU police are also more than guilty.

However, the above-mentioned BBC investigation reports forensic, documentary, and witness evidence suggesting Georgian law-enforcement may have added an old World War I-era lachrymator (bromobenzyl cyanide, sometimes called “camite”) to water-cannon dispersal in late-2024 protests. Georgian authorities deny this and have opened a criminal probe into the BBC reporting. Independent bodies and UN experts have expressed serious concern - but the story is contested and investigations are ongoing.

Why did they publish this article, and why did they do it now?

I’m sure there’s something behind this, and I think we’ll all see it soon. They need to change the Georgian government here to have their war with Iran, and they need a staging area for that purpose. Not many would openly want to agree with me with such an allegation; however, timing is everything, and having a front-row seat to what is happening in Georgia, especially when a breaking story with far-reaching consequences is released with such fanfare and immediate recriminations, means that the situation stinks of Western intelligence operations.

The Georgian government, in the name of the Georgian Dream, its ruling political party, has reacted by threatening to bring legal action against the BBC. Based on the reporting by Georgian Public TV and other Georgian language media sites, the government party says it will file international legal action against the BBC, accusing the broadcaster of publishing “false and baseless allegations” in its investigation into the government’s handling of recent protests.

In a statement, the party said the BBC article - which reported that police may have used a chemical agent during clashes with demonstrators - relied on “absurd misinformation” and testimony from individuals it described as politically motivated. Officials said they had provided the BBC with detailed, point-by-point answers in advance of publication but claimed their responses were ignored. Georgian Dream also accused the BBC of a pattern of misconduct, referencing a recent controversy involving an edited interview with former US President Donald Trump that led to management resignations at the broadcaster. The party argued this demonstrates the outlet “has no professional restraint” in reporting.

Calling the investigation “a smear campaign” against the government, police, and state institutions, Georgian Dream said it will pursue “all possible legal remedies” in international courts. Regardless of how the ledger of truth and innocence pans out in this case, one thing is certain: timing is everything, and there definitely appear to be double standards in the World of Reporting, and this boils down to the very essence of Manufacturing Consent and the BBC and CNN Effect in media language that describes how the media is used to achieve geopolitical goals.

And in all likelihood, at best, there are likely alternative motives, and these are not too concealed, and why would the Government of Georgia use an illegal chemical compound when it had so many methods available for crowd control, including high-frequency sound devices left over from the Saakashvili regime, as were sold to Georgia by the US and its Western friends to support the Beacon of Democracy.

It is worth noting. “The substances in question were used by the Ministry of Internal Affairs until 2012 [during the UNM government period],” said former Minister of Internal Affairs Vakhtang Gomelauri, responding to a recent BBC report. However, this is not mentioned in the BBC report, and I know personally, as I suffered from the discussed chemical agents during a crackdown while covering a street protest in 2011 that the previous government punitively reacted to, with people beaten to death and disappeared. They had been supporters of the challenger to the Saakashvili regime - Nino Burnadze.

So, who does the BBC and its fellow travellers think they are fooling when they make such allegations and use only those in the opposition and those most likely financially compensated by Western governments to support their claims!?

In the end, the controversy around the BBC investigation is less about chemistry and more about politics. The allegations, denials, recriminations, and counterclaims now sit inside a broader struggle over Georgia’s direction, its alliances, and who gets to shape the regional narrative at a volatile moment in history.

With formal inquiries under way and both sides accusing the other of manipulation and subterfuge, the facts and allegations will have to withstand closer independent scrutiny. What is clear is that the timing, intensity, and geopolitical backdrop ensure this dispute will echo far beyond the protests that originally triggered it - and that the fight over public trust and the self-determination of Georgia may prove as consequential as any forensic finding!

Henry Kamens, columnist and expert on Central Asia and the Caucasus. Courtesy

https://journal-neo.su/2025/12/11/real-gas-lighting-with-alleged-wwi-agent-british-intelligence-and-the-latest-destabilization-efforts-in-georgia-amid-failures-in-ukraine/