Posted by
Bert Chapman on Saturday, April 10, 2010 7:33:07 PM
Today we learned the sad news that Poland's President and a number of significant Polish governmental and national security officials were killed in a plane crash in Russia. They were on their way to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Katyn Massacre when nearly 15,000 Polish military officers were murdered by Stalin's Soviet Government in the early months of World War II. Russia has still not apologized for this hideous crime but there has, apparently, been some improvement in Polish-Russian relations in recent years. The bilateral relationship between these two countries has been a deeply troubled one as anyone relatively familiar with European History can tell you.
It appears the Polish delegation was flying in a very old Russian built plane with a history of repeated mechanical failures. Why the Polish Government had not invested in better quality and newer American or even western European airplanes for such an important delegation is a question the Polish Government must answer as soon as possible. Why so many important Polish officials, particularly national security officials, were on such a decrepit aircraft is another question worthy of serious investigation? If finances were a problem, surely the U.S. could have worked out a sweetheart deal for our NATO allies who have so many of their compatriots living in the U.S. and who have also assisted us in Iraq and Afghanistan. Understanding the tragic history of Russian-Polish relations, it's easy to assume that foul play on Russia's part was involved and, frankly, I don't trust Vladimir Putin or Dimitri Medvedev. However, Putin has taken charge of the investigation into the plane's crash and I think he'll have the political authority to see that the investigation has some semblance of thoroughness. There have been news reports that the plane's pilot ignored the advice of Russian air controllers to not land at the Smolensk airport to due heavy fog and that's something that needs to be examined in any investigation.
We'll see how this story plays out in the days and weeks to come, but for now we must remember Poland in our prayers at this difficult time.