A Study In Contrasts…Reagan vs. Obama re: downed airliner

What did President Reagan have to say about the U.S. downing of Iran Air Flight 655 five years later?

“I am saddened to report that it appears that in a proper defensive action by the U.S.S. Vincennes this morning in the Persian Gulf an Iranian airliner was shot down over the Strait of Hormuz. This is a terrible human tragedy. Our sympathy and condolences go out to the passengers, crew, and their families. The Defense Department will conduct a full investigation.

“We deeply regret any loss of life. The course of the Iranian civilian airliner was such that it was headed directly for the U.S.S. Vincennes, which was at the time engaged with five Iranian Boghammar boats that had attacked our forces. When the aircraft failed to heed repeated warnings, the Vincennes followed standing orders and widely publicized procedures, firing to protect itself against possible attack.

“The only U.S. interest in the Persian Gulf is peace, and this tragedy reinforces the need to achieve that goal with all possible speed.”

Feel free to compare and contrast the two differing responses by the same U.S. president.

@Pete, #3:

You trying to disparage his comments simply displays your ignorance and vile partisan hatred of a president whose shoes Obama could.never hope to fill, such is his blatant worthlessness.

I said nothing disparaging.

We were invited to make a comparison between Obama’s response to events earlier today and Reagan’s response to a similar event decades ago. I suggested a comparison between two responses by Reagan to similar events five years apart. If there’s something you don’t like, it must have to do with your own reaction to that comparison. I didn’t actually express an opinion.

I don’t see much wrong with Obama’s initial response, given that very little is presently known about who was actually responsible. There are a number of possibilities. The only thing that can be said with certainty is that for all aboard, and for all their friends and family, it is a tragedy. People want to tear into Obama about it, however, as with everything else. I just saw John McCain on Hannity using this as an occasion for expounding on why we should be arming the Ukrainians and moving U.S. troops into Poland, Czechoslovakia—which I will give him the benefit of the doubt on—and other nations threatened by Russia.

Study history or be doomed to repeat mistakes of history…..Gen Santana.
The Iranians have no concern about human life.
Iranians used children as minesweepers in the desert between Iran and Iraq, killing hundreds of their own little ones.
They use human shields whenever they feel the need.
But, despite Ronald Reagan’s apology and expression of shock over the accident, the Iranians looked at the incident as indicating American fighters were just as crazy as Iranian ones.
American fighters might kill anyone!
So, Iran called for a hudna.
And now we have an uneasy peace with them until they finish building their nuke.
They don’t like a seemingly symmetrical war with enemies as crazy as they are.

@Nanny G, #6:

The Iranians have no concern about human life.

The downing of Iran Air Flight 655 created deep distrust of the United States among the Iranians that has lasted to this day. They still commemorate the event. Ronald Reagan’s equivocal comment in post #2 was the only apology Iran ever got from the United States for the incident. There were 66 children among the 290 civilian casualties. Iranian parents love their children as much as the people of any other nation do. People tend to dehumanize those perceived as enemies. It’s part of the blindness that facilitates the madness that is war.

We should have made a much stronger official display of our national regret for the error. Had we done, our relations with Iran would likely be much better today. Or relations with Iran is a history of missteps and missed opportunities.

@Greg:

I don’t see much wrong with Obama’s initial response

The major problem with it was timing. Why did he wait so long to even acknowledge that he knew about it? Did he know about it or did he find out on a News cast? Seems as if that’s how he’s been getting his news lately.

@Redteam, #11:

Everybody, including Obama, knew the plane had gone down, but nothing more was known with certainty, and still isn’t. Consider just a few alternate possibilities:

The pro-Russian separatists did it thinking they were firing on a military target, using a missile system supplied by Russia.

The Ukrainian military brought the plane down with a missile figuring Russia would be blamed, hoping to gain military aid to oppose Russia and pro-Russian separatists.

Some Ukrainian nationalist faction planted a bomb on the plane with that same motive.

Islamic extremists planted a bomb the plane, hoping to escalate tension between the U.S. and Russia and possibly provoke direct confrontation.

Some unknown party planted a bomb on the plane for reasons nobody has even suspected, using the military conflict as cover. Malaysian Airlines is involved again. Twice, of course, could still be coincidence.

A number of details have been reported by the media with little or no way of knowing if they’re factual. Fox, as usual, is reporting statements made by unnamed sources and and passing on information from unreliable sources:

A report by the Daily Mail showed the SA-11 launcher used in the attack missing two of its four missiles. A senior U.S. defense official confirmed the newspaper’s report.

The possibility was raised by the Daily Mail that the photos show an SA-11 launcher. That’s speculation, not certainty. What doesn’t FOX News understand about the fact that the article header ends with question mark? And what does the Daily Mail not understand about the fact that there are people who are strongly motivated to make such claims, true or not? Such people likely provided the photographs.