"Going by the intelligence available, it is my opinion that a shooting down by a surface to air missile remains the most likely scenario. But we are not closing our eyes to the possibility that things might have happened differently." Fred Westerbeke, head of criminal investigation into MH17 crash, SpiegelOnline, Oct 27

New analysis indicates that one, possibly two jet aircraft were near Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 just before the plane was shot from the sky killing 298 passengers and crew. This bolsters the theory that a jet fighter was responsible for bringing down the aircraft shifting the likely focus to the United States backed Ukraine government.
(Image: CCTV screen grab)

The new analysis was reported by RT today. Sergey Melnichenko, CEO of Aviation Safety Consultancy and Analysis Agency, released findings based on data from the Rostov, Russia radar station near the Ukraine border. The data tracking radar covered a period before and after the crash.

The analysis is based on the same data set used by the Russian military in its presentation of July 21. The aviation expert was diplomatic when he pointed out that "Our data is somewhat more precise" than the military presentation. From the article, it appeared that the data was obtained and made public through unofficial or unapproved sources in the military.

Were these military jets and if so, whose jets were they?

The Russian military claimed that the radar pointed to a specific Soviet era jet, the SU25. There's no evidence that the eastern Ukrainian resistance ever had a jet fighter. Melnichenko told a Moscow newspaper that any Russian jet fighter that crossed into Ukrainian airspace would have been spotted and recorded immediately by Ukraine and NATO radar. There are no claims, let alone evidence, that this occurred. That leaves the United States installed Kiev junta government of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko as the responsible parity.

An early analysis of surviving parts of the aircraft showed penetration of the cockpit area indicating the use of an air cannon, the type that the SU25 carried. Twenty five year Lufthansa pilot Peter Haishenko's analysis was largely ignored except in the U.S. alternative press and criticized by some claiming that the specifications of the SU25 wouldn’t' allow the plane to operate at the altitude of MH17. As it turns out, the plane and later variations of the SU25 can reach those heights and function for a period.

The Obama administration was quick to make the absolute claim that "pro Russian" militias were responsible for the shoot down. Photographic evidence that supposedly showed the resistance moving missiles claimed to be the weapon of destruction were debunked by bloggers through simple photo analysis. In addition, the U.S. never provided the claimed proof used by the White House to make the claims.

The MH17 crash is an open question. The Dutch prosecutors responsible for laying blame for the shoot down and the Russian military agree. While preliminary speculation varies, both sides agree on one thing - we don't now for sure how this crash happened.

What a tragic yet revealing irony. The new Cold War, the sanctions hurting business around the world, the brinksmanship of nuclear posturing, and the time wasted that could be devoted to positive efforts are all due to a rash assertion by the U.S. war party (i.e., Congress) that the Russians or the pro Russian Ukraine resistance caused the airliner to crash and the resulting deaths.

We have reached the point at which all available satellite, radar, audio, and analytic information must to be released by every party holding that information - Ukraine, the U.S. and other NATO nations, and Russia. This needs to be settled promptly for the surviving friends and families and for the safety and security of the rest of us.

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