The downing of Malaysian passenger flight MH-17 was a great tragedy, especially for the Dutch people. In The Netherlands I covered all ins- and outs 24/7 from the beginning, the first hours after the Boeing-777 crashed in eastern Ukraine near the border with Russia.
In New York, president Obama spoke about the tragedies in the world and was quite forcefull about Islamic State, Al Qaeda ‘remnants,’ Ebola outbreak in western Africa and the conflict in Ukraine. Indeed the downing of flight MH-17 was covered and resulted in these immediate news headlines on Dutch news sites and tv coverage …
Obama: ‘Rebels blocked entry to crash site with help from Russia
This is a blatant and ugly lie from the U.S. president I will not let this pass unanswered.
The article continues …
“Rebels who were backed by Russia have blocked for days access to the crash site of flight MH17. Russia supported the rebels in eastern Ukraine later with troops. This reproach was made by the American president Barack Obama for the Kremlin today in his speech to the General Assembly of the United Nations.
With the disaster of the Boeing-777, which was likely shot down, 298 people were killed of which 196 were Dutch.
The Russian action in Ukraine, including the Russian annexation of Crimea, is a test of the international order, says Obama.”
Tweet from the White House [plus comments]
“We are heirs to a proud legacy of freedom and we are prepared to do what is necessary to secure that legacy for generations to come” –Obama
Remarks by President Obama at UN General Assembly | CFR |
Recently, Russia’s actions in Ukraine challenge this post-war order. Here are the facts. After the people of Ukraine mobilized popular protests and calls for reform, their corrupt president fled. Against the will of the government in Kyiv, Crimea was annexed. Russia poured arms into eastern Ukraine, fueling violent separatists and a conflict that has killed thousands. When a civilian airliner was shot down from areas that these proxies controlled, they refused to allow access to the crash for days. When Ukraine started to reassert control over its territory, Russia gave up the pretense of merely supporting the separatists, and moved troops across the border.
This is a vision of the world in which might makes right — a world in which one nation’s borders can be redrawn by another, and civilized people are not allowed to recover the remains of their loved ones because of the truth that might be revealed. America stands for something different. We believe that right makes might — that bigger nations should not be able to bully smaller ones, and that people should be able to choose their own future.
And these are simple truths, but they must be defended. America and our allies will support the people of Ukraine as they develop their democracy and economy. We will reinforce our NATO Allies and uphold our commitment to collective self-defense. We will impose a cost on Russia for aggression, and we will counter falsehoods with the truth.
From my diaries covering the Ukraine crisis in the aftermath of the MH-17 crash:
○ Russia critical of MH17 inquiry, wants bigger U.N. role on Sept. 19, 2014
○ DSB Releases Preliminary, Final Report On MH-17 Due within a Year on Sept. 9, 2014
○ Russia Criticizes Stalled MH17 Investigation, Failure to Release Data on Aug. 25, 2014
○ Was Malaysia MH-17 Downed by Su-25 Fighter Planes? on Aug. 10, 2014
○ Dutch PM Rutte Abruptly Calls-off MH-17 Recovery Mission on Aug. 6, 2014
○ World In Turmoil (Ukraine and ME) – Brzezinski and Albright Speak Out on Aug. 2, 2014
○ The Dutch Have Gone Mad [More Mad] on July 25, 2014
○ Shrapnel Damage of Cockpit MH-17 Devastating on July 23, 2014
○ US building case tying separatists to plane crash | Dutch get Anne Applebaum as ‘neutral observer’ of Ukraine conflict | on July 20, 2014
