Will Russian President Vladimir Putin have second thoughts about the encouragement he has given separatists in eastern Ukraine if it turns out, as seems likely, that they shot down a Malaysian passenger plane Thursday with 298 people on board?
Perhaps not, since Putin appears almost immune to embarrassment and has himself authorized brutal military operations over the years with a high quotient of “collateral damage” in the form of lost innocent life.
The pro-Russian separatists have denied that they had anything to do with the tragedy, but then of course they would: It’s a public relations disaster for them. Who else would be deploying anti-aircraft rockets in the area — reportedly a Buk anti-aircraft missile system — without the necessary expertise to hit the targets they had in mind?
If the separatists really are to blame, the rest of the world at least will have no excuse for underestimating their reckless disregard for human life, or for refusing to condemn Russian support of the destructive insurrection.
And civilian airlines, following the lead of British Airways and other carriers, should resolve to avoid that airspace.