Murder In The Sky: Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17
OP-ED
David Marples: The aftermath of MH17
A man walks, on July 17, 2014, amongst the wreckages of the malaysian airliner carrying 298 people from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur after it crashed, near the town of Shaktarsk, in rebel-held east Ukraine. The Malaysian airliner was shot down over Ukraine by a surface-to-air missile Thursday but it was unclear who fired the weapon, US officials told AFP. Intelligence analysts are reviewing data to determine whether the weapon was launched by pro-Moscow separatists in Ukraine, Russian troops across the border or Ukrainian government forces, said two US officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity. AFP PHOTO/ ALEXANDER KHUDOTEPLY
The massive outpouring of media commentary and analysis following the tragic loss of lives on the downed Dutch airliner has given much pause for thought. Three items in attracted my attention, one from the perspective of misreading the situation, and the second and third offering informed but questionable statements by experts on Ukraine. They provide an introduction for an analysis of the reaction from the Russian side, which seeks to deflect responsibility for the catastrophe from the Kremlin and even from the anti-Ukrainian forces that currently occupy the cities of Donetsk and Luhansk, which, most sources concur, were responsible for the missile that brought down Flight MH-17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur last Thursday
