Obama hits reset button on wobbly
public response to Malaysia
Airlines shootdown
U.S. President Obama speaks about situation in Ukraine from the White House in Washington
By Olivier Knox, Yahoo News
President Obama on Friday called the
downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 an “outrage of unspeakable proportions,”
declared it a “wake-up call” for timid European leaders, and all but laid blame
for the tragedy directly at the doorstep of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Obama’s blunt language, delivered in the
White House briefing room from behind a lectern with the presidential seal,
offered a stark contrast to his muddled public handling of the disaster a day
earlier.
As the news broke on Thursday, the White
House signaled that the president had first learned about the world-shaking
events from Putin at the tail end of a telephone call arranged at Moscow’s request. With
grisly details coming in, Obama went ahead with a heavily partisan public
schedule: A speech in Wilmington, Delaware, where he hit Republicans over infrastructure
funding, followed by a brace of Democratic fundraisers in New York City.
Obama had begun his speech in Delaware with just seven
sentences on the attack, declaring that “it looks like it may be a terrible
tragedy” — a jarring response to media reports that were already citing a death
toll of nearly 300 people. He did not tie the catastrophe to Russia.
And it was Vice President Joe Biden, not Obama, who first told Americans that the
passenger jet had apparently been “shot down — not an accident, blown out of
the sky.”
Republicans have recently stepped up their
regular criticisms of Obama’s handling of world affairs — a reflection of
escalating chaos from Iraq to Libya, as well as Syria's widening civil war,
China’s increasingly tense relations with its neighbors, and the collapse of
the Middle East peace process. His natural caution in the face of crisis has
fed GOP charges that he is too slow to act or give voice to American outrage.
Come Friday, Obama revised his tone,
shedding “may be a terrible tragedy” in favor of “outrage of unspeakable
proportions,” personally confirmed that “a surface-to-air missile was fired,
and that's what brought the jet down,” linked the attack directly back to
pro-Moscow Ukrainian separatists, and implicated Russian President Vladimir
Putin.
“A group of separatists can't shoot down
military transport planes,” he said, “without sophisticated equipment and
sophisticated training, and that is coming from Russia.”
Putin’s refusal to halt the flow of
weapons and fighters into eastern Ukraine
has emboldened the separatists and led them to snub talks with the government
in Kiev, Obama
charged.
Putin “has the most control over that
situation, and so far, at least, he has not exercised it,” the president said.
Obama had a stern message about European
leaders, who have resisted U.S.
calls for strict economic sanctions on Russia
for stirring up armed unrest in eastern Ukraine,
fearful that Moscow
could shut off westward flows of oil and natural gas.
“This certainly will be a wake-up call for
Europe and the world that there are consequences to an escalating conflict in
eastern Ukraine, that it is not going to be localized, it is not going to be
contained,” he said.
And the world learned from the president
that at least one American, Quinn Lucas Schansman, was among the victims.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with his
family for this terrible loss,” said Obama, who noted: “Because events are
moving so quickly, I don't want to say with absolute certainty that there might
not be additional Americans.”
White House aides had emphasized on
Thursday that the president had taken charge behind the scenes. They disclosed
his telephone calls to leaders of Ukraine, the Netherlands and Malaysia.
They highlighted that he had spoken to Secretary of State John Kerry
by telephone and had later consulted CIA Director John Brennan, Principal
Deputy Director of National Intelligence Stephanie O’Sullivan,
White House chief of staff Denis McDonough,
and deputy national security advisers Lisa Monaco and
Ben Rhodes.
It was not clear to what extent Obama, who
came to office vowing to “reset” relations with Russia,
would change his cautious strategy when it comes to Ukraine. The president has fended
off calls from Republicans to upgrade that country’s weaponry and assist its
fight against the Russian-backed separatists. One administration official, who
requested anonymity, suggested that the airliner tragedy highlighted the need
for extreme caution when considering whether to provide advanced weaponry to
forces not accustomed to using it.
Asked whether he would escalate the
pressure on Moscow,
Obama declared that “it's very important for us to make sure that we don't get
out ahead of the facts” and noted that he had just announced fresh sanctions on
Russian energy and financial firms on Wednesday.
“We had already ratcheted up sanctions
against Russia,”
he said. “We will continue to make clear that as Russia, you know, engages in
efforts that are supporting the separatists, that we have a capacity to
increase the costs that we impose on them, and we will do so.”
But Obama ruled out a greater role for the
U.S.
military.
There’s no way for the president to avoid
partisan criticism in the current political climate. But he might take some
comfort from the experience of former President Ronald Reagan, the conservative
icon who faced sharp words from fellow conservatives over his response to the
Sept. 1, 1983, incident in which a Soviet fighter jet shot down a South Korean
airliner with 269 people aboard — including a U.S. congressman — killing them
all.
Reagan called that attack an “act of
barbarism” and referred to it as the “Korean airline massacre.” He ordered
Soviet airline Aeroflot’s U.S.
operations to be shut down a week after the incident. His personal diary for
Sept. 4, 1983, suggests that he took seriously a Republican senator’s
suggestion that the United States retaliate against undercover Soviet
operators.
“Strom Thurmond made a great suggestion,”
Reagan wrote. “We know the whereabouts of many K.G.B. agents [redacted] were
looking into the practicality of this [redacted] that would be shooting our
selves in the foot.”
He also complained about sniping from his
right flank.
"Short of going to war, what would
they have us do?” he asked in a speech.
"I know that some of our critics have
sounded off that somehow we haven't exacted enough vengeance," Reagan
said. "Well, vengeance isn't the name of the game in this."
It wasn’t enough for some conservatives.
“The administration is pathetic when it says this proves the President’s words
have been right all along,” declared columnist George Will, referring to
Reagan’s anti-Soviet rhetoric. “We didn’t elect a dictionary. We elected a
president and it’s time for him to act.”
Reagan recorded his personal feelings in a
September 17 diary entry.
“Im really upset with George Will. He has
become very bitter & personal in his attacks mainly because he doesn’t
think Ive done or am doing enough about the Russians & the KAL007
Massacre,” he wrote, before giving Will what Reagan’s admirers in today’s
Republican party might regard as the ultimate Reagan kiss-off.
“He also believes I should ask for
increased taxes.”
Malaysia
Anwar
Ibrahim was the deputy prime minister of Malaysia,
and a board member for the International Crisis Group.
Note: Willem
Kok was the prime minister for the Netherlands,
and a board member for the International Crisis Group.
George Soros
is a board member for the International Crisis Group,
and was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open
Society.
Foundation
to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Committee
for Economic Development, and the Brookings
Institution (think tank).
Richard
H. Davis is a trustee at the Committee for Economic
Development, and a managing director at Davis
Manafort.
Viktor
F. Yanukovich is a Davis Manafort
client, and was the president of the Ukraine.
Kenneth
M. Duberstein was the VP for the Committee for Economic
Development, is a director at the Boeing
Company, and a trustee at the Brookings Institution
(think tank).
Donna S.
Morea was a trustee at the Committee for Economic
Development, and the EVP for the CGI Group
Inc.
Barbara
G. Fast was a VP for the CGI Group Inc.,
and a VP at the Boeing Company.
CGI
Group Inc. was the Obamacare
contractor that developed Healthcare.gov web site.
Obamacare
is Barack Obama’s signature policy
initiative.
Barack Obama’s
signature policy initiative is Obamacare, his
maternal grandmother was Madelyn Payne Dunham,
and was an intern at Sidley Austin LLP.
Madelyn
Payne Dunham was Barack Obama’s maternal
grandmother, and an aircraft inspector for the Boeing
Company.
W.
James McNerney Jr. is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago,
and the chairman & president & CEO for the Boeing Company.
William
M. Daley was a director at the Boeing Company, the chief of staff for the Barack Obama
administration, and is a member of the Commercial
Club of Chicago.
R. Eden
Martin is the president of the Commercial Club of Chicago,
and counsel at Sidley Austin LLP.
Michelle
Obama was a lawyer at Sidley Austin LLP.
Newton N.
Minow is a senior counsel at Sidley Austin LLP,
and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.
Walter E.
Massey is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago,
and was a regent at the Smithsonian Institution.
Robert
S. Osborne is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago,
and the EVP & general counsel for Booz Allen Hamilton.
Booz
Allen Hamilton is a contractor for the National Security Agency
(NSA).
James
R. Clapper was the an executive director, military intelligence programs
for Booz Allen Hamilton, and is the
director at the Office of the Director of National
Intelligence for the Barack Obama
administration.
Stephanie
O'Sullivan is the principal deputy director for the Office of
the Director of National Intelligence.
Melissa
Hathaway was a cyber coordination executive for the Office of
the Director of National Intelligence, and a principal for Booz Allen Hamilton.
John
Michael McConnell was a director at the Office of
the Director of National Intelligence, and is the vice chairman for Booz Allen Hamilton.
Cyrus
F. Freidheim Jr. was a managing director at Booz Allen
Hamilton, is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago,
and an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution
(think tank).
Lee H.
Hamilton is an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution
(think tank), and a co-author of Without
Precedent.
Benjamin
J. Rhodes is a co-author of Without Precedent,
and the deputy national security adviser for the Barack Obama
administration.
Lisa Monaco
is the assistant to the president for home security for the Barack Obama administration, and Robert S.
Mueller III was her counsel & chief of staff.
Robert
S. Mueller III was Lisa Monaco’s
counsel & chief of staff, and a partner at Wilmer
Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr.
Cameron F. Kerry
was an associate at Wilmer Cutler Pickering
Hale and Dorr, John F. Kerry’s
brother, and a fellow at the Brookings Institution
(think tank).
John F. Kerry is Cameron F. Kerry’s brother, the secretary at the U.S. Department of State for the Barack Obama
administration, and married to Teresa Heinz Kerry.
Teresa Heinz
Kerry is married to John F. Kerry,
and an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution
(think tank).
Steven
Pifer was a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution
(think tank), and a U.S.
ambassador for the Ukraine.
Carlos
Pascual was a U.S.
ambassador for the Ukraine, and the VP for
the Brookings Institution (think tank).
David
M. Rubenstein is a co-chairman for the Brookings Institution
(think tank), and a regent at the Smithsonian
Institution.
Joseph
R. Biden Jr. is a regent at the Smithsonian Institution,
and the vice president for the Barack Obama
administration.
Shirley
Ann Jackson is a regent at the Smithsonian Institution,
a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank),
and was a trustee at the Committee for Economic
Development.
Alan G. Spoon
was a regent at the Smithsonian Institution,
and a trustee at the Committee for Economic
Development.
Foundation
to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Brookings
Institution (think tank), the Center for American
Progress, and the Committee for Economic
Development.
George Soros
was the chairman for the Foundation to
Promote Open Society, a supporter for the Center for
American Progress, and is a board member for the International Crisis Group.
Denis
McDonough was a senior fellow at the Center for American
Progress, and is the chief of staff; former deputy national security
adviser for the Barack Obama administration.
Richard
H. Davis is a trustee at the Committee for Economic
Development, and a managing director at Davis
Manafort.
Viktor
F. Yanukovich is a Davis Manafort
client, and was the president of the Ukraine.
Willem Kok
was a board member for the International Crisis Group,
and the prime minister for the Netherlands.
Anwar
Ibrahim was a board member for the International Crisis Group,
and the deputy prime minister of Malaysia.
Thomas
R. Pickering is a co-chair for the International Crisis Group,
a distinguished fellow at the Brookings Institution
(think tank), was the SVP for the Boeing
Company, the chairman of review board that investigated the 2012 attack on U.S.
consulate in Benghazi, Libya in 2013, and a U.S. ambassador for Russia.
Boeing
Company is a contractor for the National Security Agency (NSA).
Malaysia Airlines Flight 17
All 283 passengers and 15 crew on board
the Boeing 777-200ER airliner died.
Almaz-Antey
is the defense contractor for Russia, and the producer of missile
believed used for the 2014 downing of Malaysia
Air Flight 17.
Vladimir
Putin is the president of Russia, and was a lieutenant
colonel for the KGB.
James F.
Collins was a U.S.
ambassador for Russia, a senior advisor
for Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP,
and is a senior associate at the Carnegie
Endowment for International Peace (think tank).
Akin,
Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP is the lobby firm for the Boeing Company.
Boeing
Company is a contractor for the National Security Agency (NSA).
Foundation
to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think tank), and the
Brookings Institution (think tank).
George Soros
was the chairman for the Foundation to
Promote Open Society.
Jessica Tuchman Mathews
is the president of the Carnegie Endowment
for International Peace (think tank), a director at the American
Friends of Bilderberg (think
tank), was a board member for the International Crisis Group,
an honorary trustee at the Brookings
Institution (think tank), and a 2008 Bilderberg conference participant (think tank).
Ed Griffin’s interview
with Norman Dodd in 1982
(The investigation into
the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace uncovered the plans for
population control by involving the United States in war)
Willem Kok
was a board member for the International Crisis Group,
and the prime minister for the Netherlands.
Anwar
Ibrahim was a board member for the International Crisis Group,
and the deputy prime minister of Malaysia.
Vernon E. Jordan Jr. is an
honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution
(think tank), Valerie B. Jarrett’s
great uncle, a senior counsel for Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer
& Feld, LLP, a director at the American Friends of Bilderberg (think tank), and a 2008 Bilderberg conference participant (think
tank).
Cyrus
F. Freidheim Jr. is an honorary trustee at the Brookings
Institution (think tank), a member of the Commercial
Club of Chicago, and was a managing director at Booz Allen
Hamilton.
Booz
Allen Hamilton is a contractor for the National Security Agency
(NSA).
Edward
Snowden was an employee at Booz Allen Hamilton,
and leaked information about the National Security Agency
(NSA).
Robert
S. Osborne is the EVP & general counsel for Booz Allen
Hamilton, and is a member of the Commercial
Club of Chicago.
Valerie
B. Jarrett is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago,
the senior adviser for the Barack Obama
administration, and her great uncle is Vernon E.
Jordan Jr.
Akin,
Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP is the lobby firm for the Boeing Company.
Boeing
Company is a contractor for the National Security Agency (NSA).
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