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Left Blames President Trump For Iran’s Decision To Shoot Down A Passenger Plane
The Federalist ^ | January 10, 2020 | Erielle Davidson

Posted on 01/10/2020 8:51:40 AM PST by Kaslin

The crash of Ukrainian Airlines Flight 752 is a tragedy, the culpability for which lies unequivocally with Iran. To suggest otherwise is to cheapen the deaths of hundreds to score political points against the 'bad orange man.'


Something grotesque is unfolding on the left, particularly about Ukrainian Airlines Flight 752, which domestic and foreign governments indicate was likely shot down by an Iranian antiaircraft missile. One-hundred and seventy-six individuals perished as the airplane caught fire and came crashing to the ground in Iran early Wednesday morning.

Those on the left have opted to blame President Trump for the Iranians’ error, searching desperately for any way in which to transform President Trump’s controlled and tactical maneuvers in Iran into a policy quagmire. The crash of Ukrainian Airlines Flight 752 is indeed a tragedy, the culpability for which lies unequivocally with the Iranian regime. To suggest otherwise is to cheapen the deaths of hundreds for the sake of scoring political points against the “bad orange man.”

But the Democrats have shown no compunction about engaging in such an ethically reprehensible endeavor. Trump “broke” the left, and they are doggedly indicating to us that the term “broke” also included snapping their moral compass in half.

On Thursday evening, Democrat Rep. Jackie Speier of California appeared on CNN’s “The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer,” declaring that if Iran did shoot down Flight 752, then “this is yet another example of collateral damage from the actions that have been taken in a provocative way by the President of the United States.”

Mayor Pete Buttigieg, a prominent 2020 Democratic contender, hinted at a similar tack, stating on Twitter “Innocent civilians are now dead because they were caught in the middle of an unnecessary and unwanted military tit for tat.” But as Washington Examiner reporter Jerry Dunleavy noted, Buttigieg misstates the series of events in order to imply that both President Trump and the Iranian regime are equally culpable when they are most certainly not.

Dunleavy tweeted, “If these reports are true, it means this airliner filled with hundreds of people was shot down by Iran just after Iran fired upon bases housing U.S. soldiers in Iraq. The U.S. did not fire back that night or since. There was no ‘in the middle.’ It was Iran. Iran did this. Period.”

The prominent leftist lawyer Laurence Tribe indicated that Flight 752 never would have been shot down by a “trigger-happy Iranian missile” if it weren’t for Trump’s ordered “assassination” of Soleimani. CNN national security reporter Susan Hennessey mourned the loss of life “killed in the crossfire of reckless escalation.”

But again, there was no “crossfire.” Iran shot down a civilian passenger jet after firing directly at two U.S. bases in Iraq. There was no response from the United States during that period. Iran is the only force that fired any projectile of any kind that evening. It was likely a tragic error by Iran, but not one for which blame should be assigned to President Trump or the United States, despite the left’s most concerted efforts. It was Iran who chose to attack the U.S. embassy in Iraq that prompted the current hostilities, and Iran that has historically been the aggressor against innocent civilians through decades of ongoing support for terrorism worldwide.

These facts didn’t stop the Associated Press from tweeting, “What began with a drone attack on a top Iranian general rippled outward until dozens of Iranian-Canadians, and dozens of Iranian students studying in Canada, were dead.” Rippled outwards. That’s the verbiage the press is using now to connect two events whose perpetrators are decidedly different but some on the left desperately equivocate. The tweet forces a logical leap that removes the bad actor entirely, evincing an approach to reporting that is not only reductionist but also morally bankrupt.

Furthermore, the Associated Press’ tweet makes a clownish attempt to portray the United States’s targeted strike on Iranian terrorist leader Qassem Soleimani as something almost haphazard – a mere “drone strike” on a “top general.” Soleimani wasn’t merely a “top Iranian general” – he was the leader of an organization formally designated a foreign terrorist organization (FTO) by the U.S. State Department.

As the tactical mastermind behind the world’s largest state sponsor of terror, the Quds Force leader was designated a terrorist by the United States and responsible for the deaths of hundreds of U.S. soldiers. In short, the targeted killing of Soleimani was morally justifiable, unlike his promotion of terror.

The media and Democrats’ relentless attempts to spread Tehran-like propaganda evince a deep ailment on the left in analyzing any event in which Trump may be even remotely involved. Indeed, the left is so eager to find fault with President Trump that their ability to cognitively assess a problem has virtually dissipated. What we’re left with is a shell of hyperbolic nonsense, disseminated by the media and cloaked in deliberately manipulative wording.

Conservative commentators are rightfully labeling such suspended logic as indicative of a larger “Blame America First” mentality that has seized the American left. It’s becoming painfully obvious that the left has serious doubts about the American project as a whole, the latest response to a terrorist’s death being just one data point in the larger mosaic of questioning American exceptionalism, which includes pushback against celebrated notions such as individual liberty, religious freedom, and free markets.

In many ways, Trump has become the ultimate vessel for the left to express its distrust of the American project in a socially and politically acceptable manner. Indeed, given the way the above statements were authored, it is becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish whether the left rejects Trump or the larger endeavor that is the United States. I have a feeling many voters will be wondering the same thing.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; Foreign Affairs
KEYWORDS: foreignaffairs; foreignpolicy; iran; media; mediabias; mediacriticism; muslimworld; tds; terrorism; theleft; ukraine
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To: Kaslin

I’m starting to wonder how a “normal” person who is a Democrat can still keep defending this. I would be embarrassed to call myself a Republican if the shoe was on the other foot. This has got to start getting embarrassing for many of them.


21 posted on 01/10/2020 9:59:05 AM PST by ThePatriotsFlag (Congress is not made up of leaders however they are representatives of their voters.)
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To: Kaslin

I can hear it now...”SEE what YOU made THEM do!”


22 posted on 01/10/2020 10:00:04 AM PST by Ruy Dias de Bivar
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To: MayflowerMadam

Yeah, I think he did. He lost a number of Canadians on that flight, and it was not our fault. He should be embarrassed for that comment.


23 posted on 01/10/2020 10:04:38 AM PST by DoughtyOne (The Leftistist media and particularly CNN NEWS should come with a ten day supply of Cipro.)
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To: Kaslin

Predictable. The dems (excrement be upon them) have chosen the other side: bearded savages.


24 posted on 01/10/2020 10:08:17 AM PST by I want the USA back (If free speech is taken away, dumb and silent we are led, like sheep to the slaughter: G Washington)
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To: Kaslin

This conflict in reality is this; A Religious Holy War !

Ignored because of the way it is being reported which is;

While the MSM and reporting news agencies reporting such incidents knowingly avoid referencing the religious aspect of these conflicts. Portray the conflicts going on between entities in the area as territorial when they are actually sectarian based on enforcing absolute conformity to a theocracy. Which orders followers to adhere to Koranic laws that go unquestioned by leading mono theistic leaders like Pope Francis obey what they claim are Our Creator’s orders which has them authorized by God to execute unbelievers including those fleeing the area they control.


25 posted on 01/10/2020 10:15:43 AM PST by mosesdapoet (mosesdapoet aka L,J,Keslin posting here for the record hoping somebody might read and pass around)
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To: Kaslin
Iran’s Decision To Shoot Down A Passenger Plane
26 posted on 01/10/2020 10:18:47 AM PST by existentially_kuffer
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To: Kaslin

Yes, the targets being shot at are to blame. That makes sense. < /sarc >


27 posted on 01/10/2020 10:23:48 AM PST by OrangeHoof (The Democrats - Unafraid to burn in Hell.)
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To: Pollster1

“They bought their tickets. They knew the danger. I say, ‘let ‘em crash’!”


28 posted on 01/10/2020 10:27:31 AM PST by OrangeHoof (The Democrats - Unafraid to burn in Hell.)
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To: Pollster1

Not to mention....earthquakes!


29 posted on 01/10/2020 10:45:37 AM PST by NEMDF
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To: Kaslin

I believe the cause of my loose bowels is Barack.


30 posted on 01/10/2020 10:47:33 AM PST by gathersnomoss (Welcome to North Mexico, Gringo's it...)
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To: Kaslin

31 posted on 01/10/2020 12:59:01 PM PST by 4Liberty (Impeached, for a retort about Rosie's unhealthy weight. Why not for Obama's "Special Olympics" slur?)
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To: OrangeHoof
“They bought their tickets. They knew the danger. I say, ‘let ‘em crash’!”

Surely you can't be serious!

32 posted on 01/10/2020 1:00:11 PM PST by Pollster1 ("Governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed")
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To: Kaslin; All

I suspect that the Iranians may try to claim that the Airliner ID transponder was not functioning causing them to fire a missile at a “suspicious air craft”.

That is why Iran won’t give up the telemetry “black box”!


33 posted on 01/10/2020 1:33:40 PM PST by mdmathis6
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To: Kaslin

Don’t forget the 53 crushed to death In the forced attendance crowds. Yep, those Iranians sure taught us a lesson this time!


34 posted on 01/10/2020 1:58:43 PM PST by Nateman (If the left is not screaming, you are doing it wrong ...and Epstein did not kill himself.)
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