Tell that to the Aussies, who are convinced they're going to be able to convince the ICJ that the chips are all turning-up 'Putin' - and they'd like a few hundred million to assuage the grief involved. The US attorney who got Ghaddafi to cough-up the boodle over Lockerbie - or was that to ensure the release of the convicted, and at that time dying, bomber - has signed-on to 'assist' the case. It might help if any Russians had been convicted since having a Libyan charged, and found guilty, probably made the Lockerbie case a slam-dunk even if the money did come later. But there are no convicted, or even identified, Russians - so MH17 might be tougher.
Although the first part of the MH17 investigation was concluded and the conventional wisdom that 'the russians did it' was upheld by Dutch investigators, enough questions were left unanswered to at least hint that the final word may not be emanating from Kyiv. The Ukrainian side of the issue was adopted from virtually the first moment and only lacking proof would indicate it isn't wrong. Facebook posts of what 'Bellingcat' thinks the Russian military are up to, his evidence is - to a large degree - open to some questioning or interpretation. It is no 'smoking gun'. That's a large part of the problem that could apparently be resolved easily. But for some reason it has not been.
Within two days of the incident, US Secretary of State John Kerry gave every indication that he knew all there was to know about MH17, so much so that he appeared at the UN to demand a sanctions program. But statements aside, one would think if definitive proof was available, as he claimed it was, it would have been made available to the investigation - even 'sub rosa' if military secrets were involved. Here's what he told America and the world three days after the crash.
Kerry on 'Meet the Press' July 20, 2014.
The discussion had been wide-ranging before Kerry Arrived but he launched himself into the topic 'ab initio', he remarked on the separatists' guilt, the Russian commander admitting as much, rejoicing over the hit etc , their control of the crash site, the loading of victims bodies into trucks, knowing Russia had supplied them with Buks and then.
DAVID GREGORY:
"Are you bottom lining here that Russia provided the weapon?
SECRETARY JOHN KERRY:
There's a story today confirming that. But we have not, within the administration, made a determination. But it's pretty clear, when, you know, there's a build-up of extraordinary circumstantial evidence. You know, I'm a former prosecutor. I've tried cases on circumstantial evidence. It's powerful here. But even more importantly, we picked up the imagery of this launch. We know the trajectory. We know where it came from. We know the timing. And it was exactly at the time that this aircraft disappeared from the radar. We also know, from voice identification, that the separatists were bragging about shooting it down afterwards.
DAVID GREGORY:
Right.
SECRETARY JOHN KERRY:
So there's a stacking up of evidence here, which Russia needs to help account for. We are not drawing the final conclusion here. But there is a lot that points at the need for Russia to be responsible. And what President Obama believes and we, the international community, join in believing, everybody is convinced we must have unfettered access."
There was a conclusion drawn then that still exists and this is a 'smoking gun' story if I've ever hard one. Yet Kerry has yet to provide the evidence of which he speaks. Or admit making a creative statement to 'color' an already bloody disaster.
The most development in the saga is a recently release dash cam of what is claimed to be the rebels Buk 'moving into position' shortly before it downed the Malaysian airliner.
David Perry of Consortium news deconstructs the updated conventional wisdom
David Perry "More Gameplaying on MH17?"
The second part of the investigation. The presentation of incriminating evidence and the proof of Russian perfidy is not expected anytime soon.
In the meanwhile there is another plane - Egyptair - fallen from the sky and even now (almost two weeks later) almost beyond the ability of modern man to retrieve let alone know exactly what happened. We're nor getting much better at air disasters, are we?
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