U.S. to release intelligence on Malaysian plane downing: State Department

[jakeXT]

Source: Reuters

(Reuters) - The United States will on Tuesday release intelligence backing its assertion that the Malaysian airliner that crashed in Ukraine was brought down by a missile fired from the separatist-controlled area, the State Department said.

Spokeswoman Marie Harf told reporters the intelligence community would later in the day "be further declassifying information and will be putting out additional information that supports what we have said."

Harf repeated the U.S. belief that the plane, with nearly 300 people on board, was shot down by a Russian-made SA-11 ground-to-air missile fired from an area controlled by separatists close to the Russian border in eastern Ukraine.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/22/us-ukraine-crisis-usa-intelligence-idUSKBN0FR23U20140722

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US Dismisses Russia’s ‘Proof’ on Kiev’s Role in Boeing Crash

WASHINGTON, July 22 (RIA Novosti) – The US Department of State has dismissed Russia’s sensational claims suggesting that a Ukrainian fighter plane or missile systems could have been involved in the July 17 crash of a Malaysian passenger plane in eastern Ukraine.


...

The spokeswoman said the US assessment comes from social media accounts.

When pressed on the refusal to provide intelligence data supporting the US assessment that a SA-11 missile system, also known as Buk, brought down the plane, Harf accused Russia of spreading “misinformation and propaganda.”

"We are not equally credible parties … we don't put out mass amounts of propaganda," she added.

http://en.ria.ru/world/20140722/191096060/US-Dismisses-Russias-Proof-on-Kievs-Role-in-Boeing-Crash.html

[cosmicone]

1. This will be like Colin Powell's dossier n/t

[bemildred]

2. "The spokeswoman said the US assessment comes from social media accounts."

That's not going to do it. I don't think the appeal to authority will work either.

[Amonester]

3. Depends on who's social media accounts...

IP owners and all that stuff

You know about the "bragging" that got deleted, right?

Belongs to who?

[bemildred]

4. Nothing on twitter or facebook or the like has any dispositive value.

It can all be easily faked, and it is all the time.

[jakeXT]

5. I'm still trying to figure out what CLEAN SWEEP is

• CLEAN SWEEP which "masquerade[s] Facebook wall posts for individuals or entire countries".

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/jul/14/gchq-tools-manipulate-online-information-leak

[bemildred]

7. Don't get me started.

But I can tell you that implementing that sort of thing is straightforward, nothing esoteric about it. No fancy math.

[Amonester]

10. The Secret Service might disagree

for one easy example.

[bemildred]

12. Most of our police services ignore the problem when it suits them.

It's very handy for making a case. But here facts will be needed, radar, authenticated images, sworn testimony, forensic data.

[Amonester]

13. She did not say it was the one and only evidence.

It may well be just the first one, while they'll keep the remaining facts for a (perhaps impossible) trial?

Anyway, we'll see.

[bemildred]

14. One hopes so. I'm just saying they better have more. nt

[dipsydoodle]

15. Some of that will come

with the cockpit recording and flight data black boxes with regard what occured but may take some months. More may become apparent sooner if Kiev releases their recordings.

[bemildred]

17. Lots of possible sources to look at, I'm waiting to see who comes up with what.

Last edited Tue Jul 22, 2014, 06:21 PM - Edit history (1)

Maybe all the yelling will subside. Considering what they managed with the other Malaysian plane loss, I expect they will sort it out. I would expect E. Ukraine gets plenty of attention.

[joshcryer]

18. I don't see what the recordings will tell us.

They'll be the same as any other plane flying over that same path. Perhaps we'll hear the pilot ask to divert from a storm that was in the area. Which will be sad because that'll be the moment the entire plane was doomed.

[jakeXT]

25. SBU has the ATC recordings, a Belgian air force jet brought the boxes to London

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Black boxes from the Malaysian jetliner downed over eastern Ukraine will be sent to a lab in the United Kingdom, said Malaysia's deputy transport minister on Tuesday.

"The procedure is to have the black boxes sent to the nearest lab that is authorized by the ICAO for analysis," Aziz Kaprawi told Reuters, referring to the International Civil Aviation Organisation.

The two black boxes are now in the possession of Malaysian authorities after Prime Minister Najib Razak brokered a deal late on Monday with eastern Ukraine's separatists leader to hand over evidence that could shed light on the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 last Thursday.

Aziz said that the black boxes would travel to a lab under the Air Accidents Investigations Branch in the U.K.

http://news.yahoo.com/mh17-black-boxes-uk-analysis-says-malaysian-minister-140400069--finance.html

the BBC reports "Ukraine's SBU security service has confiscated recordings of conversations between Ukrainian air traffic control officers and the crew of the doomed airliner, a source in Kiev has told Interfax news agency."

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-07-18/ukraines-security-service-has-confiscated-air-traffic-control-recordings-malaysian-j

[dipsydoodle]

26. Black boxes were also pre-inspected by Malaya

and certified as not being previously interfered with.

I've got the actual BBC link to the zerohedge reference.

[jakeXT]

27. Russia is pointing fingers at Kiev in the ATC case

MOSCOW, July 23 (RIA Novosti) – The Russian Foreign Ministry has accused Kiev of trying to influence air traffic controllers and tamper with Boeing crash data in the wake of last week's disaster in eastern Ukraine, the ministry’s spokesman said Wednesday.

“According to reports that emerge, Ukrainian authorities are conducting certain covert activities involving data storage equipment and employees of Ukrainian air traffic control services, both civilian and military, without notifying international organizations,” spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said in a statement.

http://en.ria.ru/world/20140723/191152325/Russia-Suspects-Kiev-of-Tampering-With-MH17-Crash-Data.html

[joshcryer]

9. Yeah, I wouldn't expect any high intel.

It's going to basically be Reddit's version of events, which I think is accurate, but yeah.

[Ruby the Liberal]

20. My guess is they are referring to the posts

taking credit for shooting the plane down right as it happened, and the ensuing confusion when they realized there weren't weapons or military personnel on board.

[bemildred]

21. That's my guess too.

Transcripts of intercepted cell phone calls.

[joshcryer]

23. Yeah, and the concerted coverup after the fact.

Of anything related to Buk's in rebels hands and of any Buk related operations, which were widely reported, but now deleted on official outlets.

[jakeXT]

22. AP asking questions

[RufusTFirefly]

6. Cui Bono?

[atreides1]

8. Good

This should settle it, for the most part!

[conservaphobe]

11. Probably will still not be enough for some.

People like that are as disturbing as the Sandy Hook deniers.

[jakeXT]

16. U.S. Officials: No Evidence Of Direct Russian Link To Malaysia Plane Crash

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senior U.S. intelligence officials say they have no evidence of direct Russian government involvement in the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17.

They say the passenger jet was likely felled by an SA-11 surface-to-air missile fired by Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine and that Russia "created the conditions" for the downing by arming the separatists.

The officials briefed reporters Tuesday under ground rules that their names not be used in discussing intelligence related to last week's air disaster, which killed 298 people.

They said they didn't know if any Russians were present at the missile launch, and they wouldn't say that the missile crew was trained in Russia.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/22/malaysia-plane-crash_n_5611113.html

[joshcryer]

19. Russia did a fantastic coverup job, imo.

The Buk's will never be found nor will the people who shot them.

Maybe 40 years from now we'll get an old man's death bed confession. If he survives and isn't disappeared.

[reorg]

24. CNN: US government released map of what it says was the flight's path and the site

So, was this the revelation we all have waited for with baited breath?

Barbara Starr is proud to report on Twitter: "Here is satellite trajectory of #FlightMH17 and the missile US says shot it down"



Can you believe it? Such powerful precision, the artful rendition in different colors even! Why, we no longer need felt pens these days and use Windows Paint 7.0, or let our little ones do the onerous work. And to be able to do this on "satellite image" from Digital Globe 2010! Thank you, thank you, US government.

RT was not much better yesterday, I have to say: they state the "Buk missile defense units" were located "in Zaroschinskoe, 50km south of Donetsk city and 8km south of Shakhtyorsk, on July 17, 2014." That's not quite true, the satellite image provided by the Russians is taken some 20 km east of Donetsk, but it was easy to figure out. I think the pictured road fork is right here:

Google map

For the purpose of comparison with the above, here the actual "satellite image" provided by Russia:



and the actual flight path: