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[HOT LINKS] Ukraine Crash Revives Memories of 1983 Korean Air Attack

July 18, 2014

People inspect the crash site of a passenger plane near the village of Grabovo, Ukraine, Thursday, July 17, 2014. Koreans experienced similar attack some three decades ago, when Soviet forces shot down Korean Air Lines Flight 007. (AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky)

People inspect the crash site of a passenger plane near the village of Grabovo, Ukraine, Thursday, July 17, 2014. Koreans are reminded of similar attack some three decades ago, when Soviet forces shot down Korean Air Lines Flight 007. (AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky)

[THE WALL STREET JOURNAL] The crash of a Malaysia Airlines jet in eastern Ukraine on Thursday, allegedly after being hit by a missile, brings back memories of other deadly attacks involving commercial airlines. One of the worst of those was the 1983 shooting down by a Soviet fighter jet of a Korean Air Lines passenger jet, which Moscow claimed was a spy plane.

Following is how The Wall Street Journal reported U.S. President Ronald Reagan’s initial response to the attack.

Reagan condemns jet’s ‘massacre’ by Soviets

6 September 1983

The Wall Street Journal

WASHINGTON–Condemning Moscow for what he called the ‘Korean airline massacre,’ President Reagan last night shunned any tough retaliatory measures and instead used the incident to urge new support for his big defense buildup.

In a nationally televised address, a grim-faced Reagan gave details about the Soviet assault on the commercial South Korean jetliner with 269 people, calling it an attack ‘against the world and the moral precepts which guide human relations among people everywhere.’

He then urged Congress, which will face major defense issues when it returns this month, ‘to ponder long and hard the Soviets’ aggression as they consider the security and safety of our people.’ [READ MORE]