Originally Posted by
oleostrut
"A senior U.S. intelligence official familiar with the U.S. capabilities in the region told NBC News the cause of the crash remains unclear, but infrared and multispectral imagers indicate strongly there was an explosion on the flight. "
Source of the above:
NBC news Live Blog. A further excerpt demonstrates how much noise gets added to signal ...
"It's not conclusive, but it's suggestive," a U.S. administration official concurred. "Now, the question is, if there was an explosion, what caused it? Mechanical failure? Explosives? No idea at this point."
Was it necessary for "a senior US Intelligence official" to open his mouth on this? No. Sharing such info as can be shared with Egypt/Greece/France (et al) can be done via the usual channels without using the news as a vehicle.
Was it necessary for "a U.S. administration official" to offer the "what does it mean" noise? No. (Sadly, feeding the 24/7 news cycles seems to be all that some 'officials' are good for
)