SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Airliner Shot Down 'By Mistake' say US Officials
US intelligence officials back theory that Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 was likely shot down by ill-equipped rebels, but evidence shows no direct involvement by Russia
Jul 23, 2014
New comments from high-level U.S. officials and portions of declassified intelligence information released on Tuesday indicates--contrary to earlier comments by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry--that Russia had no direct involvement in last week's Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 disaster in which 298 passengers were killed after being shot down over eastern Ukraine.
Overall, the U.S. assessment as of Tuesday appears to be that the shooting down of the airliner was "a mistake" by Ukrainian rebels in the east of the country who remain in a protracted battle with the Ukraine Army controlled by the newly-established government in Kiev. Though the presented evidence--much of which could not be independently verified by media outlets--attempted to make connections between Russian weapons and training facilities--no "smoking gun" was presented that showed Russian forces or personnel were involved.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the evidence presented suggested that an ill-equipped and ill-trained anti-aircraft unit of rebel fighters was behind the shooting down of the plane who could not distinguish it from a military transport plane which the fighters have been targeting in recent weeks:
The launcher that U.S. officials believe fired the SA-11 heat-seeking missile used a rudimentary radar system that gives an incomplete picture of what is flying above, officials said. Such antiaircraft systems are designed to be linked to other radar that would allow the crew on the ground to distinguish between military and civilian aircraft.
Because separatists did not have secondary radar images available, they probably mistook the airliner for a Ukrainian military plane, the officials said.
The missile that took down the jetliner was probably fired by an "ill-trained crew," said one U.S. official who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly on the issue. "It does appear to be a mistake."
Reporting on the briefing, the Moscow Times adds:
The intelligence officials said the U.S. did not know that the separatists were in possession or control of SA-11 missile systems until after the Malaysia Airlines plane was struck.
Separatist leaders have said they did not bring the Malaysian plane down. Russia has repeatedly denied involvement.
The U.S. intelligence officials dismissed Russian assertions that the plane may have been brought down by a surface to air missile fired by Ukrainian government forces, or by a Ukrainian government warplane.
They said the air-to-air missile theory was backed by little or no evidence, and that while the Ukrainian government has had access to SA-11 missiles, there was no evidence they had deployed them anywhere near the region where the plane crashed.
On Sunday, Secretary Kerry went on numerous news programs and declared there was an "enormous amount of evidence" linking Russia to the disaster, but critics were quick to point out the circumstantial, vague, and selective nature of his comments.
If not directly involved, the new line of criticism against Moscow coming from Washington, DC is that Russia, by backing the rebel fighters in the Ukraine, "created the conditions" for the disaster to occur. Strikingly, this is the exact charge made by Russian President Vladimir Putin against U.S. and NATO countries who have given the Ukrainian military its full support as it continues to bombard the restive regions that have declared independence.
In comments released to the media on Tuesday, Putin said he would use whatever influence over the rebel forces that Russia has in order to facilitate the ongoing investigation into the crash, but also had harsh words for western nations that have tried to blame Moscow for the violence in the region--including the downed plane--while leaving out the deadly role they have played by giving Kiev their full backing for its ongoing military offensive against the so-called "pro-Russian separatists" who the government consistently refers to as "terrorists."
"Ultimately, there is a need to call on the authorities in Kiev to respect basic norms of decency, and at least for a short time implement a ceasefire," Putin said. Scores of people have been killed in fighting in recent days and weeks in and around the cities of Donetsk, Luhansk, and elsewhere.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
New comments from high-level U.S. officials and portions of declassified intelligence information released on Tuesday indicates--contrary to earlier comments by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry--that Russia had no direct involvement in last week's Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 disaster in which 298 passengers were killed after being shot down over eastern Ukraine.
Overall, the U.S. assessment as of Tuesday appears to be that the shooting down of the airliner was "a mistake" by Ukrainian rebels in the east of the country who remain in a protracted battle with the Ukraine Army controlled by the newly-established government in Kiev. Though the presented evidence--much of which could not be independently verified by media outlets--attempted to make connections between Russian weapons and training facilities--no "smoking gun" was presented that showed Russian forces or personnel were involved.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the evidence presented suggested that an ill-equipped and ill-trained anti-aircraft unit of rebel fighters was behind the shooting down of the plane who could not distinguish it from a military transport plane which the fighters have been targeting in recent weeks:
The launcher that U.S. officials believe fired the SA-11 heat-seeking missile used a rudimentary radar system that gives an incomplete picture of what is flying above, officials said. Such antiaircraft systems are designed to be linked to other radar that would allow the crew on the ground to distinguish between military and civilian aircraft.
Because separatists did not have secondary radar images available, they probably mistook the airliner for a Ukrainian military plane, the officials said.
The missile that took down the jetliner was probably fired by an "ill-trained crew," said one U.S. official who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly on the issue. "It does appear to be a mistake."
Reporting on the briefing, the Moscow Times adds:
The intelligence officials said the U.S. did not know that the separatists were in possession or control of SA-11 missile systems until after the Malaysia Airlines plane was struck.
Separatist leaders have said they did not bring the Malaysian plane down. Russia has repeatedly denied involvement.
The U.S. intelligence officials dismissed Russian assertions that the plane may have been brought down by a surface to air missile fired by Ukrainian government forces, or by a Ukrainian government warplane.
They said the air-to-air missile theory was backed by little or no evidence, and that while the Ukrainian government has had access to SA-11 missiles, there was no evidence they had deployed them anywhere near the region where the plane crashed.
On Sunday, Secretary Kerry went on numerous news programs and declared there was an "enormous amount of evidence" linking Russia to the disaster, but critics were quick to point out the circumstantial, vague, and selective nature of his comments.
If not directly involved, the new line of criticism against Moscow coming from Washington, DC is that Russia, by backing the rebel fighters in the Ukraine, "created the conditions" for the disaster to occur. Strikingly, this is the exact charge made by Russian President Vladimir Putin against U.S. and NATO countries who have given the Ukrainian military its full support as it continues to bombard the restive regions that have declared independence.
In comments released to the media on Tuesday, Putin said he would use whatever influence over the rebel forces that Russia has in order to facilitate the ongoing investigation into the crash, but also had harsh words for western nations that have tried to blame Moscow for the violence in the region--including the downed plane--while leaving out the deadly role they have played by giving Kiev their full backing for its ongoing military offensive against the so-called "pro-Russian separatists" who the government consistently refers to as "terrorists."
"Ultimately, there is a need to call on the authorities in Kiev to respect basic norms of decency, and at least for a short time implement a ceasefire," Putin said. Scores of people have been killed in fighting in recent days and weeks in and around the cities of Donetsk, Luhansk, and elsewhere.
New comments from high-level U.S. officials and portions of declassified intelligence information released on Tuesday indicates--contrary to earlier comments by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry--that Russia had no direct involvement in last week's Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 disaster in which 298 passengers were killed after being shot down over eastern Ukraine.
Overall, the U.S. assessment as of Tuesday appears to be that the shooting down of the airliner was "a mistake" by Ukrainian rebels in the east of the country who remain in a protracted battle with the Ukraine Army controlled by the newly-established government in Kiev. Though the presented evidence--much of which could not be independently verified by media outlets--attempted to make connections between Russian weapons and training facilities--no "smoking gun" was presented that showed Russian forces or personnel were involved.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the evidence presented suggested that an ill-equipped and ill-trained anti-aircraft unit of rebel fighters was behind the shooting down of the plane who could not distinguish it from a military transport plane which the fighters have been targeting in recent weeks:
The launcher that U.S. officials believe fired the SA-11 heat-seeking missile used a rudimentary radar system that gives an incomplete picture of what is flying above, officials said. Such antiaircraft systems are designed to be linked to other radar that would allow the crew on the ground to distinguish between military and civilian aircraft.
Because separatists did not have secondary radar images available, they probably mistook the airliner for a Ukrainian military plane, the officials said.
The missile that took down the jetliner was probably fired by an "ill-trained crew," said one U.S. official who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly on the issue. "It does appear to be a mistake."
Reporting on the briefing, the Moscow Times adds:
The intelligence officials said the U.S. did not know that the separatists were in possession or control of SA-11 missile systems until after the Malaysia Airlines plane was struck.
Separatist leaders have said they did not bring the Malaysian plane down. Russia has repeatedly denied involvement.
The U.S. intelligence officials dismissed Russian assertions that the plane may have been brought down by a surface to air missile fired by Ukrainian government forces, or by a Ukrainian government warplane.
They said the air-to-air missile theory was backed by little or no evidence, and that while the Ukrainian government has had access to SA-11 missiles, there was no evidence they had deployed them anywhere near the region where the plane crashed.
On Sunday, Secretary Kerry went on numerous news programs and declared there was an "enormous amount of evidence" linking Russia to the disaster, but critics were quick to point out the circumstantial, vague, and selective nature of his comments.
If not directly involved, the new line of criticism against Moscow coming from Washington, DC is that Russia, by backing the rebel fighters in the Ukraine, "created the conditions" for the disaster to occur. Strikingly, this is the exact charge made by Russian President Vladimir Putin against U.S. and NATO countries who have given the Ukrainian military its full support as it continues to bombard the restive regions that have declared independence.
In comments released to the media on Tuesday, Putin said he would use whatever influence over the rebel forces that Russia has in order to facilitate the ongoing investigation into the crash, but also had harsh words for western nations that have tried to blame Moscow for the violence in the region--including the downed plane--while leaving out the deadly role they have played by giving Kiev their full backing for its ongoing military offensive against the so-called "pro-Russian separatists" who the government consistently refers to as "terrorists."
"Ultimately, there is a need to call on the authorities in Kiev to respect basic norms of decency, and at least for a short time implement a ceasefire," Putin said. Scores of people have been killed in fighting in recent days and weeks in and around the cities of Donetsk, Luhansk, and elsewhere.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.