General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Face it, DU: Manny *loves* Putin. [View all]geek tragedy
(68,868 posts)have their head in the sand.
Things known without relying on the US government:
1) the only military planes flying in the area belong to Ukraine
2) as a result of (1) the only people shooting at planes in the area are the rebels
3) as a result of (2) the only people who have shot down planes in the area are the rebels
4) the rebels have shot down several planes in the past week
5) the head of the rebels bragged about shooting down a plane within minutes of this plane being shot down
6) there are many social media--and Russian-friendly media reports--showing that the rebels had the equipment necessary to do this.
Also, it's been demonstrated that the Syrian government did use the poison gas, the Putin-humpers protestations to the contrary