Only the person or persons who fired the missile know the truth for sure. Yet Ukraine now says "Russian Officer Downed MH17".
A brawl then ensued in Ukrainian Parliament following a vote to increase troops battling rebels.
Vitaly Nayda, Ukraine's director of informational security, made the accusation in an interview with CNN. The person was "absolutely" a Russian, he said. "A Russian-trained, well-equipped, well-educated officer ... pushed that button deliberately."
Moscow has denied claims that it pulled the trigger. And Russian Army Lt. Gen. Andrei Kartapolov suggested a Ukrainian jet fighter may have shot the plane down.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko rejected that in an exclusive interview with CNN, saying that all Ukrainian aircraft were on the ground at the time.
Nayda, speaking to CNN on Tuesday, referred to audio recordings captured by Ukrainian intelligence. "We taped conversations" between a Russian officer and his office in Moscow, Nayda said. "We know for sure that several minutes before the missile was launched, there was a report" to a Russian officer that the plane was coming, Nayda said.
"They knew the plane was coming with constant speed, in constant direction," and should have known it was not a fighter jet but "a big civilian plane," he said.
That recording is not among those that have been released.
Vitaly Churkin, Russia's ambassador to the United Nations, was asked Monday about different intercepted recordings, purportedly of pro-Russian rebels talking about shooting down a plane. Churkin suggested that if they did, it was an accident.
"According to them, the people from the east were saying that they shot down a military jet," he said. "If they think they shot down a military jet, it was confusion. If it was confusion, it was not an act of terrorism."
Pro-Russian rebels have repeatedly denied responsibility for the attack. "This is an information war," rebel leader Alexander Borodai said.
Interested in the Truth
"
We don't have the technical ability to destroy this plane. Ukrainians are not interested in the truth," said Borodai.
Actually, whoever did it (Russia, Rebels, Ukraine) is not interested in the truth. And even if rebels accidentally did it, Ukraine has no interest whatsoever in explaining why MH17 deviated from its flight path.
Yesterday, Pater Tenebrarum outlined
Six Who-Done-It Possibilities, summarized in a different order as follows.
- Ukraine did it accidentally
- Rebels did it accidentally
- Russia did it accidentally
- Ukraine did it on purpose
- Rebels did it on purpose
- Russia did it on purpose
Analysis of the Possibilities
Pieces of the plane with shrapnel holes tend to rule out other possibilities.
Pater suggests, and I concur, numbers 5 and 6 can be discarded. Russia and the rebels had nothing to gain and everything to lose by purposely shooting down a civilian aircraft.
However, Ukraine did have much to gain from doing it on purpose. This is what we are left with but expanding points number 1 and 2.
- Ukraine did it accidentally
- Surface to air missile
- Air to air missile
- Rebels did it accidentally
- Complete accident
- Steered that way on purpose by Ukraine air traffic control flight deviations
- Steered accidentally by air traffic control flight deviations
- Steered that way on purpose by Ukraine military flights
- Steered that way accidentally by Ukraine military flights
- Russia did it accidentally
- Ukraine did it on purpose
Point number 3 is very remote but arguably possible. Russia would have no reason to be firing missiles accidentally or on purpose over Ukraine territory.
Could rebels under outside guidance have made a mistake? Yes, but I distinguish between official actions and that of rogue citizens. The latter I consider part of scenario number 2.
How might Ukraine have done it accidentally?
Easy: On July 17, the
New York Times reported
Ukraine Says Russian Plane Shot Down Its Fighter Jet.
The Ukrainian government said on Thursday that a Russian military plane had shot down a Ukrainian fighter jet in Ukrainian airspace the previous evening, a serious allegation of direct intervention by Russia’s armed forces.
If confirmed, the confrontation would represent the first open and direct involvement by Russia’s military in eastern Ukraine since the separatist rebellion began there in April.
Scenario Fulfillment
Please note that 1b is not ruled out. Wreckage confirms missile damage of MH17 from that outside, but does not confirm that it was a Buk or even a missile from the ground.
And after accusing Russia of violating its airspace, is it that unlikely a
Ukrainian soldier or pilot accidentally pulled the trigger?
For further discussion of "
scenario fulfillment" please see
Holier than Thou: Why Should Anyone Believe the US, Ukraine, or Russia?
Rush to Judgment
Under the "
Lie When It's Serious" thesis, there is no reason to believe any side completely. Yet many have done just that.
I am not ruling out any possibilities other than #6-Russia did this on purpose, and #5-the rebels did this on purpose.
Of the remaining scenarios, the likelihood Russia did this accidentally is remote, once again distinguishing between official actions and that of rogue citizens acting on their own.
Of the reasonable possibilities, only 2a removes some guilt from Ukraine. Even then, Ukraine turned down a ceasefire agreement, which if honored, would have prevented accidents.
Mainstream media and the US government are without a doubt involved in a rush to judgment, much like the ill-fated rush to judgment before the US invasion of Iraq. Senator John McCain and president Obama are particularly obnoxious.
There are lots of questions here, especially in regards to very sloppy video manipulations and accusations by Ukraine.
Accident the Most Likely Answer
The only non-accident scenarios involve Ukraine. Arguably the most likely scenario is "someone by accident".
Please note that the US, Ukraine, and Russia have all shot down civilian aircraft by accident. Thus, all the hype from Obama, McCain, and others over "an accident" is ridiculous.
Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
