Evidence such as the black box recording which indicates
that there was an explosion in the aircraft, the satellite technology that did
pick up a flash of heat on the airplane, and the fact that ISIS declared war on
Russia points to the fact that the plane crash was the result of a terrorist
attack. Putin has made the bold statement that Russia is suspending all flights
to Egypt.
Top congressional leaders (Capitol Hill Democrats and
Republicans, including leaders in intelligence, foreign policy and homeland
security) are expressing little doubt that ISIS is responsible for the crashed
Russian airliner. They are calling for heightened
security as well as revamped U.S foreign policy.
Texas GOP representative, Mike McCaul who is the chairman of
the House of Homeland Security Committee told Fox News that he has a “high
degree of confidence” that ISIS did plant a bomb on the Russian airliner and
that the plane did explode in midair on October 31 in the Sinai Peninsula in
Egypt. He continues by saying that the Transportation Security Administration
has been proactive in ordering additional security but that the Obama
Administrations unenthusiastic efforts to destroy the Islamic State group in
Syria and other places in the Middle East is to blame for the tragedy.
Schiff, a California Democrat, told ABC, “I agree that the
president's approach basically has a battlefield that is pretty static and that
more is going to have to be done”. Schiff also suggested that eradicating ISIS
could take 15 to 20 years without ground support from such countries as Turkey
and Jordan. He continues by stating “I … think that ISIS may have concluded
that the best way to defeat airport defenses is not to go through them, but to
go around them with the help of somebody on the inside. And if that's the case,
I think there are probably at least a dozen airports in the region and beyond
that are vulnerable to the same kind of approach, which is exactly why we have
to harden those defenses”. The other law makers agree with his statement.
California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein “really believes
[that], we will fight (ISIS) now or we will fight them later”. On the subject
of bombs she said “the kinds of bombs vary. The one I'm most worried about is
the one that there have been four attempts to bring into this country.” She
also states that she hopes that this tragedy is a major “wake up call” for the
U.S and Russia.
Even though the U.S has about 50 Special Forces members in
Syria, she simply says that won’t cut it.
Sources:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/11/08/congress-make-bipartisan-calls-for-obama-to-step-up-isis-attacks-in-wake-downed/
(videos attached)
Questions:
How do you think the Obama Administration will react to the
request for more action? Do you think Obama will send more special forces
members over? Why or why not?
The evidence from the black box and the satellites point to
a bomb exploding on board the plane, do you think this is enough evidence to
conclude that this was indeed a terrorist attack? Why or why not?
2 comments:
Well, seeing as ISIS has declared war on Russia, and this was a Russian plane, I don't think Obama will take any immediate action and involve the US before we know what we are getting into. The most action I think that we will see from the Obama administration is a little more airport security, especially since Thanksgiving is coming up and so many people will be flying everywhere. If there is any change that ISIS will interfere with American planes, then the government will want to ensure they do everything to protect us.
I do think that there is enough evidence to declare this a terrorist attack. It has been confirmed that nothing was physically wrong with the plane- the explosion was a very sudden event. And since explosions don't randomly happen, and ISIS is out to get Russia, all we have to do is connect the dots and reasonably predict that yes, ISIS blew up the plane.
The Obama administration has to think long and hard before they involve us with ISIS and Russia's conflict. It might be in our best interest to say out of it, but the opposite might also be true. I guess we will see.
I agree with Brianna that Obama will wait before making any decisions that could land the United States in the next major global conflict. Even though they might increase security, I doubt that ISIS would try any attacks using United States airplanes as there is no evidence of ISIS operating attacks outside of what it considers to be ISIS territory.
However, I do not think that there is enough evidence yet to claim this is an attack from ISIS itself. Although someone may have placed a bomb on the plane to further ISIS goals, because ISIS has not made any statements confirming this attack as their own, I doubt they played a major role in it. Most terrorist attacks only succeed when groups take credit for them, and because ISIS has not done so, they likely are not directly responsible for the crash.
I think that the United State's best possible decision is to stay out of the conflict as much as possible. There have already been a number of problems in the middle east because the United States thought it was doing the right thing. Unless important allies request assistance, the United States should remain out of the conflict.
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