DISASTER:Polish President Lech Kaczynski & Wife Maria among 88 Confirmed Dead as Plane Crashes in Russia

ALL ARE DEAD. Poland is in shock and mourning.

President Lech Kaczynski, his wife Maria and many members of Polish government were on the plane that crashed Saturday morning at approximately 10:56 AM local Moscow time in Russia killing all on board.

Polish president Lech Kaczynski and his wife Maria have been killed after their plane crashed on approach to Smolensk airport in western Russia.

There were conflicting reports today of the number of people on board the flight. Russian news agencies reported at least 88 people died in the crash near Smolensk airport in western Russia, citing the Russian Emergencies Ministry. They reported 132 people were aboard the Tupolev Tu-154.

But Polish officials said 88 people were on board when the plane crashed. Sky News reported 96 dead.

Pics and Videos can be seen here.

It is being deemed as pilot error.

The death of 96 individuals, including the Polish President and numerous military leaders while trying to land in Russia to honor the Polish officers slain in the Katyn massacre is rather a bizarre and sick irony.

The Polish military suffered the deepest losses. Among the dead were the army chief of staff, the navy chief commander, and heads of the air and land forces, who were all making the emotional trip to honor the Polish officers slain by the NKVD, the acronym for the Soviet secret police at the time of the killings in 1940.

Some on board were relatives of the officers slain in the Katyn massacre. Also among the victims was Anna Walentynowicz, whose firing in August 1980 from the Lenin Shipyards in Gdansk sparked a workers’ strike that spurred the eventual creation of the Solidarity freedom movement.

Let’s hope that Barack Obama attends the funeral for the Polish President and his wife as a sign of out allied partnership and just doing the right thing as a head of state.  As stated, if The One can fly off to Copenhagen, he can fly off to bury a friend of the United States.