Worse, Ms. Rubin then turned into a spokesperson for Kiev's coup regime. She actually wrote, "The Ukrainian government insists that Russian trainers and military were behind all the shootdowns, military and civilian." Like so many other poorly trained western journalists, Ms. Rubin misconstrued Kiev's assertions of evidence to constitute actual evidence.
Unfortunately for her credibility, on July 22nd U.S. officials asserted that they had found no evidence directly linking Russia to the Malaysia plane crash. But, even before the U.S. made its determination, I sent an email to Ms. Rubin that challenged her assertions. It reads as follows:
"Dear Ms. Rubin:
I've been reading your work on the conflict in Ukraine and, as a person who has studied Russia for more than 40 years, I find it extremely biased and lacking in historical perspective. Anti-Russia and anti-Putin invective appears to fill the gaps in your education. (I'm not a fan of Vladimir Putin. He had my friend, Igor Sutyagin, arrested. But, I'm not hysterical.)
For your information, Robert Parry, who is at least as trustworthy as you, wrote this yesterday: 'Regarding the shoot-down of the Malaysian jetliner on Thursday, I'm told that some CIA analysts cite U.S. satellite reconnaissance photos suggesting that the anti-aircraft missile that brought down Flight 17 was fired by Ukrainian troops from a government battery, not by ethnic Russian rebels who have been resisting the regime in Kiev since elected President Viktor Yanukovych was overthrown on Feb. 22.'
'According to a source briefed on the tentative findings, the soldiers manning the battery appeared to be wearing Ukrainian uniforms and may have been drinking, since what looked like beer bottles were scattered around the site. But the source added that the information was still incomplete and the analysts did not rule out the possibility of rebel responsibility.'
But, like most so-called journalists in the West's mainstream media, you seem to have ruled out the possibility that the coup regime in Kiev -- and that is precisely what it remains, notwithstanding the election of Poroshenko -- fired the Buk missile. After all, the Russian Ministry of Defense has tracked down an operational Buk system under Ukrainian control near Stela, outside Donetsk.
But this is the worst of your many sins: You've become a de facto spokesperson for the coup regime in Kiev. You're as bad as the propagandists at RT!
Sincerely,
Walter C. Uhler "
To her credit, Ms. Rubin took the time to respond to my email. She wrote:
"Dear Mr.Uhler:
I think you have fallen victim to the kind of propaganda you accuse me of
propagating.
I read Parry's piece. He is citing a second had unnamed source: 'I'm told that
some CIA analysts cite U.S. satellite reconnaissance photos" he says. That is
meaningless. 'I am told'". 'some CIA analysts'"this is weasel sourcing of the
worst kind.
U.S. satellite intelligence has determined the missile came from a rebel-held
area, and that the Ukrainians didn't have any BUK missiles in that area.
Moreover, this is not a missile where you get drunk and just push a button: why
on earth would Ukrainians go through the complex technical maneuvers of
targeting a high-flying plane when the rebels don't have an airforce. Even Parry
undermines his own totally unsourced argument when he says : 'Why the Ukrainian military would intentionally have aimed at a plane flying eastward toward Russia is hard to comprehend, however.'
Meantime, there is extensive factual evidence on the other side: the official
Russian media websites and key rebel websites crowing about the shootdown (which were erased but widely viewed and photographed) cannot be denied. High flying Ukrainian planes had just been shot down at altitudes higher than the rebels
claim to have the capacity to do. Rebel leaders admit they worked for the FSB
and have Russian passports. One could go on and on and on. (I have been in
Donetsk -- the rebel leaders in now way represent the local people.) And of
course there are satellite photos and audio taps of cell phones which I am
certain the US is now verifying and will be laying out to Putin.
No doubt he will deny everything, no matter the concrete facts, as he has done
from the beginning. However, Russia propaganda from Putin on down is so absurd
and hysterical -- dead bodies on the planes??? trying to shootdown Putin's
plane???!!! -- and so out there for all to see, that why should one believe
anything the Kremlin says? After all, Putin consistently lied about the Russian
troops presence in Crimea even as international journalists were photographing
and interviewing Russian special forces.
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