// THE US, UK, FRANCE AND RUSSIA NEED TO WORK TOGETHER TO WIPE OUT ISIS // AS WE DID IN WW2. FOUGHT SIDE BY SIDE AGAINST NAZI GERMANY // Russian Passenger Plane Crash // It now seems very clear that this was a very likely a Terrorist Attack, and probably not an accident. The fact that both the U.K. and U.S. officials have stated that a Bomb was likely planted in the plane strongly suggests that there the U.S. and British governments have obtained Intelligence that very strongly points to this being a terrorist attack that they are not ready to publicly disclose. The comments by Prime Minister Cameron, in particular, that it was "more likely than not" that a bomb was planted on the plane, are not comments that would be made without a substantial amount of evidence that this was a terrorist attack. I never thought that it was likely that the plane was shot down by a surface-to-air missile, since ISIS isn't believed to have surface-to-air missiles capable of shooting down an aircraft flying at an altitude of 30,000 feet, and all of the information that has been made public has also been pointing away from the theory, which was always far-fetched, that a surface-to-air missile brought down the plane. However, the alternative explanation, which is far more likely-that a bomb was smuggled into the plane by someone at the Shark el-Sheik airport-is actually far more concerning than it would be if the plane had been brought down by a surface to air missile, because it is much easier to avoid known areas where terrorist groups are known to be in possession of surface-to-air missiles than it is to further increase airport security. It appears to me that the most likely scenario is that ISIS recruited someone who worked at the Sharm el-Sheik airport, or, even more alarmingly, perhaps even someone within the Egyptian transport ministry (though the latter possibility seems much less likely, fortunately), to plant a bomb in this plane. Whether or not there was an ISIS cell at the Sharm el-Sheik airport, or if it was a single worker, remains to be seen, as does whether or not this was directed from Raqqa, Syria, or if it was a terrorist attack planned by ISIS in the Sinai Peninsula alone is another question that must be answered, and I am confident that U.S., European, and probably Russian intelligence agencies are actively looking into this. Typically, it has been Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) that has been attempting to carry out terrorist attacks on aircraft, and AQAP has been described as the most dangerous terrorist organization in the world as a result, and it will be important to completely rule out AQAP involvement in this apparent terrorist attack. The possibility that ISIS could have colluded with AQAP to carry out this terrorist attack would be especially concerning. I think that the fact that Russian officials have today first halted all Russian flights to Egypt, and now an unidentified source-presumably Russian-has stated that the black box data points to a bomb having been responsible for the downing of this aircraft suggests that the FSB has discovered strong evidence that this was a terrorist attack, evidence that the Russians may or may not share with Western intelligence agencies, considering how strained the U.S.- Russia and, to a lesser extent, EU - Russia relationship is at this time. There has been reason to believe that this was a Terrorist Attack for a number of days now, even before the statements by Prime Minister Cameron, unidentified U.S. officials, and President Obama. First, the fact that U.S. intelligence satellites detected a heat flash over the Sinai Peninsula at the time that the aircraft crashed, while not definitively pointing to terrorism, indicated that an explosion-which could've been the result of terrorism or a fuel tank explosion due to a mechanical failure, suggested that terrorism was a significant possibility. Then, the reports that the victims of the crash had different injuries depending on whether they were sitting in the front or the back of the plane-with those who were in the back of the plane having burns and shrapnel wounds on autopsy, according to unconfirmed reports from Russian media, further suggested that Terrorism was the cause of the Crash. It is important to recall that both the Russian, and, particularly, the Egyptian, Governments have a lot at stake, and are not necessarily interested in an objective investigation, because a finding that this was a terrorist attack would have an impact on both countries, especially Egypt, that neither country wants. The Egyptian economy is very heavily dependent upon tourism, and a finding that this was a terrorist attack would have a devastating effect on the reputation of Egypt as a safe tourist destination, and would undoubtedly result in an extremely sharp decrease in tourism to Egypt. This is already occurring, as even the speculation that this could have been a terrorist attack has been extremely detrimental to Egypt's reputation as a safe tourist destination, and many countries and/or airlines have already stopped flying to Egypt in response to this apparent terrorist attack. The fact that an Egyptian official reportedly told the media that it was "no longer possible" to dismiss the possibility of terrorism in this plane crash indicates that the Egyptian government has likely obtained undeniable information that points towards this having been a terrorist attack, since of any of the countries involved, Egypt has the most reason to want to hold off on making any statements linking this to Terrorism. The Russians have a different reason to want this to be found to be an accident, which is that, if this turns out to have been a terrorist attack, which seems almost certain, it will most likely have been in retaliation for Russia's airstrikes against ISIS in Syria, and Putin is probably very concerned that Russians will not continue to support Russian military involvement in the fight against ISIS and other terrorist groups in Syria if this is found to have been a terrorist attack. It would also be possible that the Russian people would support anti-ISIS efforts by the Russian Military even more than they otherwise would have, seeking to avenge the deaths of the 224 victims of this apparent terrorist attack, but it is not certain that this would be the reaction of most Russians. I think that this Terrible Attack highlights the need to not only increase the military action against ISIS in Iraq and Syria, but to begin direct military action against ISIS in Egypt, Libya, Yemen, and Afghanistan, where ISIS-linked groups are all active. It would be preferable if Russia would take the leading role in this action, as they have the ability to carry out effective military operations against terrorist groups, and I would rather not see a significant deployment of U.S. troops to fight ISIS. However, the "metastasis" of the cancer of ISIS to Egypt, Libya, Nigeria Afghanistan, Yemen, and possibly even Bangladesh demands a swift and effective military response, especially in the wake of these Terrorist Attack. THE US, UK, FRANCE AND RUSSIA NEED TO WORK TOGETHER TO WIPE OUT ISIS AS WE DID IN WW2. FOUGHT SIDE BY SIDE AGAINST NAZI GERMANY //