Flight MH17: ‘Europeans Have to Be the Ones to Take the Lead on This’ (Source thetrumpet.com)

A Boeing 777 operated by Malaysian Airlines flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur crashed July 17 in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine. All 298 people on board died. Based on the evidence currently available, it seems pro-Russia separatists shot down the plane using the Russian Buk missile system. , evidence indicates inexperienced separatist fighters, thinking the plane was a Ukrainian military transport, shot down the airliner using either a missile system Russia gave them or one they captured from the Ukrainian military. In short, Russia-backed insurgents shot down a passenger jet. So what’s next? In 1983, Russia shot down a Korean airliner after it strayed into restricted airspace. America, under then-President Ronald Reagan, delivered a firm response, using the outrage to gain support for stationing Pershing II cruise missiles in West Germany.

This time, early indications are that America won’t do much. In an interview for America’s Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), talk show host Charlie Rose asked former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, “What does the United States do if there is a clear indication … that it was Russian separatists … perhaps using weapons from Russia?” “I think that the first question is what does Europe do,” Mrs. Clinton replied. And Mrs. Clinton is right—this crash should shake Europe. It could be a trigger for Europe to unify and build its ability to put up some serious opposition to Russia. Even if nothing much happens in the short term, it still increases Europe’s fear of Russia. “For the first time, the conflict claimed victims who are citizens of Western countries, over half of them Dutch nationals,” Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevičius said. “So if before, the conflict was seen as a local one, it has become much broader in scale and can be a breaking point in how everyone sees the situation.” This is one of the biggest trends to watch for in the ongoing Crimean crisis. The fear you see in Europe because of events in Crimea is going to cause 10 leaders in Europe to unite in a sudden and dramatic way—and in precise accordance with the Bible’s description of that European empire!”