But see the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, "Putin to Head Investigation Into Polish President's Death." (Via Memeorandum.)
And here's the international political angle, at Time, "Plane Crash Kills Polish President: A Blow to Russia-Poland Relations":
The president of Poland was killed in a plane crash on Saturday in western Russia, setting off a new cycle of grievances between Russia and Poland on a day that was supposed to serve the cause of reconciliation between them. President Lech Kaczynski, his wife and some of his top security officials were among the 96 people killed in the crash. As the fuselage of the Soviet-made Tupelov airplane (operated by a Polish airliner) still smoldered in forest near the city of Smolensk, the grim irony of their deaths became clear to the stunned Polish nation: Their president had been on his way to Russia to commemorate the massacre of tens of thousands of Poles, who had been executed on the order of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin in 1940 in those same forests in the region of Smolensk.And at CNN, "Polish President Killed in Plane Crash":
Blame for the crash has fallen on the pilot, who reportedly ignored warnings from air traffic control and tried to land on Saturday morning in dense fog, snagging the tail of his plane on a tree about a mile from the airport. "The pilot was advised to fly to Moscow or Minsk because of heavy fog, but he still decided to land. No one should have been landing in that fog," an air traffic control official told Reuters, indicating that recklessness may be behind the tragedy. Russian law enforcement officials said they had opened an investigation, and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin called to express his condolences to Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who reportedly wept upon hearing of the catastrophe on Saturday.
A very sad situation, considering Poland is one of our staunchest supporters in Europe.
ReplyDeleteBZ
Some folks are saying KGB's involved in bringin' down the plane, so I'll update.
ReplyDeleteThanks BZ.
His death is so sad and tragic. I truly hope Poland is a strong enough nation to rebound from this horrific event and can find a leader with many of Kaczynski's qualities.
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