MetroJet EI-ETJ by Sergey Korovkin (CC BY-SA 4.0)

On November 4th, 2015, an Allied Services AN-12B cargo plane crashed while making a flight from Juba to Paloich. Police reported that 41 people were killed in the crash. I found it interesting that many news and media outlets mentioned it was a “Russian cargo plane” even though neither the transport company nor the countries it was flying between had anything to do with Russia. If a 737 crashes, news articles don’t immediately read that an American made jet crashed. If an Airbus crashes, news articles don’t mention a French made jet crashed. They cite the origin country of the airline. Then another plane incident occurred. Metrojet (Kogalymavia) flight 9268 crashes and the United States immediately blames it on an ISIS bombing, a claim Egypt says is premature. What we are seeing is propaganda in the making.

Syria claims that Russia has done more to take down ISIS in two weeks worth of bombings than the United States has in over a year. The United States claims that over 90% of these Russian air strikes haven’t targeted ISIS, and have instead targeted moderate opposition to Assad. In 2013, John McCain talked on Fox News about arming ISIL (ISIS) and supposed freedom fighters in the Middle East.

“Americans should not expect one battle, but a lengthy campaign unlike any other we have ever seen. It may include dramatic strikes visible on TV and covert operations secret even in success.” -President George W Bush, Speaking to Congress on September 20, 2001.

During the Regan administration, the CIA secretly sent billions of dollars in military aid to the Mujahedeen in Afghanistan to support a war against the Soviet Union. Many of these freedom fighters were prisoners released from Egypt. Regan also funded uprisings in Iran by selling arms to the Contras in Nicaragua.

I state all this because I’ve heard too many people throw up the blanket statement of, “I don’t believe the US would do that.” Well, they did. The past is littered with stories of United States intervention in developing nations, causing uprising to benefit their government and industry. From the School of the Americas to the September 11th, 1973 US led coupe in Chile, the list of US led atrocities is as long as the list of countries which have valuable oil, minerals or resources.

From Ukraine to Syria, the middle east and former Soviet States are in nothing more than a proxy war between the current world mega powers. As refugees flood from war torn Syria, news media outlets focus on the refugees and not the actual war. They focus on a plane crash from a Russian airline, and yet there is not one mention of protests in Moldova over leaders who embezzled over 1 billion euros, 1/8 of Moldova’s wealth.

Was this a missile attack? Was it a bomb in the plane? The US and UK immediately attribute blame to the attack, claiming evidence from their spy networks that were able to determine the culprit. Why weren’t their great spy networks used to prevent it then? Will this be used as justification for more spying, more security, more arms and more war? Why did a similar news article mention a Russian AN-12B in Africa crashing? Could this be to distract the world from the bombing at the Doctors Without Borders hospital a month earlier in Kunduz, Afghanistan? An attack where the United States bombed the hospital and then proceeded to gun down patients and medical staff fleeing with a C-130 gunship?

The reality of the situation is that no matter what news source one decides to follow on this story, it’s all propaganda. CNN and the BBC are no more unbiased than RT. They have already dictated a narrative to the world before any real investigation or counter arguments can be made. If anyone honestly believes either side of this argument, he or she needs to step back and realize that no matter how free these information outlets may seem, they are all feeding the world half-truths, misleading facts and outright garbage. The regurgitate the official press releases feed to them by their respective governments with little to no independent investigation.

The reality is that nations in the Middle East and Eastern Europe are caught in proxy wars and economic strongholds between the US/Europe and Russia. The reality of Kogalymavia flight 9268, is that in this news climate, it is impossible to determine what actually happened. The truth may be declassified 30 to 40 years from now, long after anyone is around to care or remember.