Russian Plane Crash Blamed On ISIS, Western Fingerprints On The Scene?

Russian Plane Crash Blamed On ISIS, Western Fingerprints On The Scene?

NOVEMBER 16, 2015
By Brandon Turbeville

With the recent downing of a Russian passenger airliner and the subsequent headlines which grabbed the attention of the world, a myriad of questions have likewise appeared regarding the nature of the attack as well as the perpetrators. The one thing that is clear, however, is that the crashed plane is being used for propaganda purposes by the West, who wishes to see Russia pull out of Syria, NATO forces move in, and for Assad to ultimately fall.

Yet for all of the hysterical calls from Western nations that ISIS was behind the attack, it should be remembered that Russia was the main victim in this case. Still, Russia has been the one nation that has acted with a cool and level head, suggesting that an investigation be conducted and all the evidence ascertained before proclamations are made regarding the nature of the guilty party.

Who Did It?

While investigations are still ongoing, there is a growing consensus that the plane was brought down not by a missile or equipment failure but by a bomb placed on board. The main question is whether or not the bomb was a barometric pressure-based bomb or whether it was detonated via remote control.

Still, the United States could not scream loud or early enough that the culprit of the bombing was ISIS. Indeed, Sinai-based group Ansar al-Maqdis has claimed credit for the bombing publicly.

According to an article posted by CNN on November 9, 2015

Several senior U.S. intelligence, military and national security officials have told CNN about the growing confidence that terrorists bombed the plane.

One official said it was “99.9% certain.” Another said it was “likely.”

The plane was headed from the Egyptian resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg, Russia, on October 31. But not long after takeoff, it disintegrated midair and crashed in the Sinai Peninsula.

British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond told CNN’s “The Situation Room” on Monday that his government still believes “it’s more likely than not” that an explosive device caused the plane crash.

“Obviously, we won’t know absolutely for certain until the final analysis of the wreckage has taken place,” he said. “That could take some time.”

British officials, he said, “acted on a precautionary basis” using all the evidence they had when they decided last week to suspend flights to Sharm el-Sheikh, he said. He declined to detail what intelligence led to the move, but said the decision — which came a day before Egypt’s President was scheduled to visit London — wasn’t made lightly.

“We’re sharing what we can. But some intelligence is sensitive, and clearly we don’t share the most sensitive intelligence. What people like the Russians and the Egyptians will very clearly be able to see is the conclusions that we have reached. … Clearly, that was not a comfortable decision for us to make. We made it on the basis of the information,” he said.

Egyptian officials, who are leading the main crash investigation, haven’t expressed as much confidence in the bomb theory.

“All the scenarios” are still on the table, said Ayman al-Muqaddam, the head of the investigation.

“We don’t know what happened exactly,” he said.

The Egyptians aren’t the only ones involved. Experts from Russia, France, Germany and Ireland — countries that are connected in various ways to the Airbus A321-200 that crashed — are also investigating.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed to reporters Monday that the United Kingdom provided Russia with data on the downing of the jet.

Meanwhile, talks between U.S., Russian and Egyptian officials about the potential scope of American assistance in the investigation are ongoing. U.S. law enforcement officials told CNN that the FBI is already offering limited support but has no plans to send a team to the region.

Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported Monday that Russian experts may receive the first forensic analysis data potentially revealing traces of explosive substances on the wreckage as early as Thursday. But more definitive conclusions could take longer, according to the report.

ISIS?

In an interview with Russian magazine, Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev did not exclude the possibility for the plane crash to have been terrorist-related. “The possibility of an act of terror is of course there as the reason for what happened,” he said. Notably, Medvedev made no pronouncements à la the United States declaring the crash an act of terror or who was responsible for it as the investigation is ongoing.

Still, the evidence seems overwhelming that ISIS was in fact involved in the bombing – whether by placing a bomb on board the plane (despite the necessity of some level of skill in order to do so) or by simply acting as the patsy for some other agent who stands to gain heavily from the fallout of the attack.

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[link to www.activistpost.com]