State Dept Contradicts Intel Community, Says Putin Directly to Blame for MH17

Claims Even More Secret Evidence Proves Putin's Involvement

Determined not to let the US intelligence community’s open admission that they have “no evidence of direct Russian involvement” in the shoot-down of Malaysia Airlines MH17, the State Department has once again insisted Russian President Vladimir Putin is “directly” to blame for it.

Puzzlingly, State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf cited the exact same intelligence community briefing as proving Putin’s guilt, even though the officials delivering that briefing said the exact opposite of it. Harf also claimed to be privy to even more secret evidence that had not gone public yet, which also pinned the whole thing on Putin.

Interestingly enough Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R – GA), the ranking Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee and privy to all the same evidence the State Department saw, said that while there was some “circumstantial” evidence pointing to Russia, he saw no smoking gun.

Not that thinks like evidence and proof really matter to the administration, which made up its mind before the smoldering wreckage of MH17 was even cold, determined to use this as another truncheon with which to bludgeon Russia, and worsen US-Russia ties. The Pentagon is now said to be planning, in the next few weeks, to send “military advisers” to Ukraine, meaning the US will be getting itself directly involved in the war against ethnic Russians along the Ukraine-Russia border.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.