Intelligence support to anti/counter terrorism. If anyone thinks I am claiming to be tough I served with jaw dropping tough guys. I was not in the same league.

I used to brief them. I always ended my briefings by telling them that it wasn’t worth the intel value to bring me a live terrorist if it risked one American life. Be safe. Shoot first.

It may take me longer. But I can work from the pocket litter.

Justin Trudeau, who has demanded answers for the families of 63 Canadians killed in the crash, said he had ‘intelligence from multiple sources’ pointing to a shoot-down.
‘The evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile,’ he said, adding that the strike ‘may well have been unintentional’.

Donald Trump also rejected Iran’s claims of a mechanical fault.

‘It was flying in a pretty rough neighborhood. Somebody could have made a mistake,’ Trump told reporters at the White House on Thursday. ‘I have a feeling that something very terrible happened, very devastating.’

UK prime minister Boris Johnson said there was ‘now a body of information that the flight was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile’, while France has also offered help with the investigation.

US intelligence says the Boeing 737 was tracked by satellite data which showed the plane airborne for two minutes before the heat signatures of two surface-to-air missiles.

Meanwhile, this is what Iran was saying.

Iran has already rejected the West’s claims, calling them a ‘big lie’ and ‘psychological warfare’.

‘It is unfortunate that the psychological operation of the US government and those supporting it are adding insult to the injury of the bereaved families and victimising them for certain goals by propagating such fallacies,’ government spokesman Ali Rabiei said.

‘No one will assume responsibility for such a big lie once it is known that the claim had been fraudulent,’ he was quoted as saying by Press TV.

Ali Abedzadeh, the head of the country’s national aviation department, also denied the allegations today at a news conference in Tehran.

‘One thing is for certain, this airplane was not hit by a missile,’ he said.

‘If they are really sure, they should come and show their findings to the world’ in accordance with international standards, he added.

Sometimes you shouldn’t ask a question if you don’t know the answer.
Maybe I was misled by so many people phrasing it as “an Iranian missile” rather than “two Iranian missiles” — I’ve checked a few more sources I didn’t read before, and the US knew from the beginning there were two, and presenting that evidence may have been what made the mullahs finally admit they were at fault.
Or at least the IRGC was at fault.
Or maybe the guys who videoed the explosion.
Whatever.

NYT story is behind their paywall; Geller’s was the only other report that I could find on my search’s page 1. She links Daily Mail, so I’ll quote from them.
The Mail claimed from the beginning that there were 2 missiles, but I don’t remember anyone else making that point in their coverage.
Did I just miss it??

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/14/world/iran-plane-crash-video.html

https://gellerreport.com/2020/01/iran-fire-2-missiles-downed-plane.html/
By Pamela Geller – on January 10, 2020

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7871397/Airlines-turn-Iranian-airspace-West-said-Tehran-DID-shoot-Ukrainian-flight.html

By DANYAL HUSSAIN and TIM STICKINGS FOR MAILONLINE

PUBLISHED: 20:48 EST, 9 January 2020 | UPDATED: 07:58 EST, 10 January 2020
Iran fired two missiles at the Ukrainian passenger jet which crashed near Tehran and killed 176 people, it is believed.

Satellite data detected two surface-to-air missiles being launched just minutes after the Boeing 737 took off, the US government says.

It is believed that Iran may have shot the plane down unintentionally, possibly mistaking it for a military jet just hours after Tehran had attacked US bases in Iraq.

Footage which emerged last night showed the Ukrainian International Airlines jet exploding in mid-air after it was hit, killing all 167 passengers and nine crew on board.

Donald Trump, Justin Trudeau and Boris Johnson have all blamed Iran for the downing of the plane as Western governments rejected Tehran’s claims of a technical failure.

Iran called the Western claims a ‘big lie’ and ‘psychological warfare’ in a fresh burst of angry rhetoric, after its relatively inconsequential strikes on US bases had sparked hopes that Middle East tensions were calming.

The news just comes now that Iran protesters tear down Qasem Soleimani posters and chant anti-government slogans as riots escalate over downed jet??

Very laughable matter?

Whats going on under Mullah fingerprint?

Ahmad Alam-al-hoda, Imam of Friday prayers and representative of the Iranian supreme leader says those people who avoid walking on US and Israel flags are spy and deserve of killing. He also has some suggestions about UK ambassador in #Iran. ? https://twitter.com/radiojibi/status/1217503626186448898 …

https://twitter.com/i/status/1217523047990726657