Obama, Hillary Clinton, the State Department, John McCain and others in government have reached the conclusion Russia was behind the deadly attack on a Malaysian airliner in Ukraine. They have reached this conclusion despite the fact the attack occurred less than 24 hours ago and an investigation has yet to begin.

The neocon wing of the establishment is ready to begin the process of blaming Russia and start the process of punitive sanctions.

“I think we could bring this to the U.N. and start the ball rolling,” Stephen Black, a Russia fellow at the American Foreign Policy Council, told USA Today. “Not just the Security Council, but the General Assembly, where Russia can’t veto it. There are more economic tools. We did not simply block them from doing dollar-denominated transactions.”

The AFPC is aligned with the American Enterprise Institute, the Center for Security Policy and other neocon advocacy groups responsible for the invasion and occupation of Iraq.

Meanwhile the Atlantic Council, a NATO think tank staffed by an array of insiders like Henry Kissinger and Brent Scowcroft, is calling for additional sanctions slapped on Russia.

Damon Wilson, who served as a Russia and Ukraine expert in the administrations George W. Bush and Bill Clinton and now works for the Atlantic Council, says the U.S. government and the European Union should crank up “sanctions that bite, along with military assistance, including lethal military assistance” the fascist dominated regime installed in Kyiv by the State Department.

Expanding Sanctions

Obama called Russian President Putin on Thursday. He promised additional sanctions and made suggestions on how Russia might step away from the conflict on its border.

“Along with our allies, with whom I’ve been coordinating closely over the last several days and weeks, I’ve repeatedly made it clear that Russia must halt the flow of weapons of fighters across the border into Ukraine, that Russia must urge separatists to release hostages, and support a ceasefire, that Russia needs to pursue internationally mediated talks and agreed to meaningful monitors on the border. I have made this clear to Mr Putin,” Obama said from the White House on Wednesday.

The latest sanctions bar Russian oil giant Rosneft and the bank Gazprombank OAO from obtaining new financing in U.S. capital markets, according to The Wall Street Journal.

“Because Russia has failed to meet the basic standards of international conduct, we are acting today to open Russia’s financial services and energy sectors to sanctions and limit the access of two key Russian banks and two key energy firms to U.S. sources of financing, and to impose blocking sanctions against eight arms firms and a set of senior Russian officials,” a notice posted by the Treasury Department states.

Russia “could shut down the border and prevent the transfer of heavy weapons and materiel to separatists. They have not done that. President Putin himself could intervene with pro-Russian separatists and encourage them to abide by the ceasefire. He has not done that,” said White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest.

Earnest failed to mention that the confectionary magnate and current president of the regime in Kyiv, Petro Poroshenko, ended the ceasefire on July 1. He went on national television and said the coup regime would “attack and liberate our land.”

War Preparations

Earlier this month the top commander of NATO, Air Force Gen. Philip M. Breedlove, announced “U.S.-based troops will buttress American forces that have already been moved in recent months from Germany, Italy and elsewhere in Europe for stepped-up ground and air patrols in the three Baltic countries of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, plus Poland and Romania,” according to McClatchy.

The effort to go up against Russia in Ukraine was derailed when Putin “ruled out a full-frontal invasion,” as Business Insider characterized Russian defense of its border, and moved troops and equipment away from the border in May. “The force that remains on the border is very large and it’s very capable and remains in a very coercive posture,” Gen. Breedlove insisted.

“With Kiev’s military campaign against fellow Ukrainians to the east faring poorly, an actual Russian invasion of Ukraine would only benefit them and their backers in both the European Union and collaborating states within NATO,” Tony Cartalucci wrote on July 15.

The desire by the West to portray Russia as “invading Ukraine” is rooted in the belief that it will undermine Russia’s political leverage and open the doors to more aggressive NATO support for the faltering regime in Kiev. Perceived Russian aggression might make it easier to convince NATO and EU members who have not followed suit in exacting sanctions and condemnation against Russia to begin taking a more anti-Russian stance.

The downing of a Malaysian airliner, an incident immediately exploited by the political class in Washington, will undoubtedly push “exacting sanctions” out on the fast track.

“As I have mentioned before, the US has no business meddling in Ukraine or trying to push NATO up to Russia’s border,” writes investor Alex Dvorkin. “That destabilizes the entire region and that will eventually lead to some sort of a war. NATO’s presence in Ukraine would be equivalent to the Chinese or the Russians building a massive military base in Tijuana. Russia will not let that happen and it will go to war to prevent it, sanctions or not.”

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