Unpacking The Geo-Politics Of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH 17

With Guest Host John Harwood.

The United States and Russia after the downed plane. We’ll unpack the politics and latest news. Plus: the latest from Gaza.

The shoot-down of a civilian airline over Ukraine, killing nearly 300 people, shocked the conscience of the world. But has it transformed the crisis in Ukraine itself — where Russia has spent months defying the international community? The evidence tying Russia to the crime is mounting. Vladimir Putin suddenly seems off balance, on the defensive. But can Europe and the United States make him back off? Will they? This hour On Point: a potential tipping point in the fight for control of Ukraine — plus we check the latest news from Gaza.
-- John Harwood

Angela Stent, director of the Center for Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies at Georgetown University. Author most recently of “The Limits of Partnership: U.S. – Russian Relations In the Twenty First Century.” (@AngelaStent)

Julie Pace, White House correspondent for the Associated Press. (@jpaceDC)

Steven Pifer, director of the Brookings Arms Control and Non-Proliferation Initiative. Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine. (@steven_pifer)

New York Times: With Jet Strike, War in Ukraine Is Felt Globally -- "The downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 rippled across multiple continents — from Amsterdam, where friends and family had just seen off their loved ones, to the distant shores of Asia and Australia that had been waiting for 298 passengers and crew who would never show up. The tragedy reached as far as a college campus in Bloomington, Ind., shocked to find one of its doctoral students among the dead."

Bloomberg Businessweek: The Malaysia Airlines Shootdown Spells Disaster for Putin --"To the vast majority of Americans, Russia’s meddling in Ukraine has largely seemed of peripheral importance to U.S. interests. That calculus has changed. As we have argued before, Putin has far more to lose from a prolonged confrontation than does the West."

The Hill: GOP Rep. Turner: ‘Putin bears all the responsibility’ for downed plane — "A member of the House Armed Services Committee said Friday that Russian President Vladimir Putin 'bears all the responsibility' for apparently shooting down a commercial airliner over Ukraine on Thursday.  Putin has said that Ukraine bears responsibility for shooting down the jetliner, a Malaysia Airlines flight that was carrying nearly 300 people. "