"GAME CHANGER": I think Josh Marshall has it right:

[The Traveler]

18. Why on earth

did anyone at a commercial airline think it was safe to fly over that area?

You KNOW there are idiots armed with military grade weapons there. You KNOW they aren't exactly operating under well established chains of command, with well defined tactical doctrines backed by training in place. You KNOW they are shooting at almost anything that moves. What kind of idiot routes a commercial airline through a mess like that?

In 1988, the US Navy once mis-identified an air liner as a fighter bomber and blasted it out the sky. And that horrible goof was perpetrated by the commander and crew of the most sophisticated warship of its era ... the USS Vincennes ... and AEGIS class cruiser equipped with the most sophisticated surface to air radar available.

None of this is intended to excuse shooting down an airliner full of innocent people. I am just pointing out that shit like this happens when you fly into a hot zone and are counting on the judgment and good will of the various combatants.

It often takes more than one idiot to make a mess like this.

Trav