The Biden administration chose the day of the Trump verdict to hide news about America’s deepening involvement in Ukraine
“A good day to bury bad news.”
That’s what 11 September 2001 was to a British civil servant by the name of Jo Moore. You’ve probably never heard of her.
As news began to reach Britain of the events of that September day, and politicians and civil servants scrambled to make sense of them—scheduling briefings, closing the airspace over London, making transatlantic phonecalls—all Jo Moore could think about was how to use the day’s unfolding tragedy to manipulate the news cycle, and public opinion, in Britain.
“Today is now a very good day to get out anything we want to bury. Councillors’ expenses?” she wrote in an email to senior members of the Department of Transport, Local Government and the Regions (DTLGR).
The publication of the email, some time later, was greeted with widespread disgust. The sentiment was bad enough, and would hardly have been redeemed if Moore had wanted to bury serious news—a royal affair, say—but the pathetic contrast between the flaming deaths of thousands of innocent people and the fudged expense accounts of a few Labour councillors was just too much for anyone to stomach.
Moore was forced to resign, and so was her superior and, eventually, the secretary of state. To complete the salting of the earth, the DTLGR itself was abolished.
Of course, the faces and the names changed, but nothing much else did.
Today, nearly a quarter century later, the phrase “a good day to bury bad news” stands as a testament to the enduring cynicism of modern politics, where spin is more important than anything else. Where the appearance of truth, and not the truth itself, is enough. Where any tragedy, however dismal, can be put to some good use, and the last thing that really matters is the people politicians claim to represent.
I’d say 30 May 2024 was also a good day to bury bad news. All eyes were on New York again, as former president Donald Trump was found guilty in his “hush money” trial. A sensational, unheralded event. Just like 11 September.
The verdict was either the darkest day in America’s history, a sham befitting a communist kakocracy; or it was a shining moment, proof that all Americans, even a former president, stand equal before the law. Either way, it was all anybody could talk about.
The Biden administration seems to have agreed with my assessment, because they chose 30 May 2024 to announce a significant escalation in the US role in the war in Ukraine. After months of pleading from Kyiv, the US finally agreed to allow the use of American weapons to strike targets inside Russia.
But there was no press conference. Instead, the White House gently slipped the news to regime rag Politico, via a back channel. Unnamed officials told Politico that the policy change would only affect the region around Kharkiv, in the north of the country, where the Ukrainians are particularly hard-pressed at the moment.
“The president recently directed his team to ensure that Ukraine is able to use US weapons for counter-fire purposes in Kharkiv so Ukraine can hit back at Russian forces hitting them or preparing to hit them,” one of the officials said, adding that there was no change to the US policy of preventing “long-range strikes inside Russia.”
The reaction from Moscow was furious. Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev gave his strongest warning that the Ukraine war will end in nuclear exchange.
“This is not ‘military assistance’ at all, but participation in a war against us. And such actions of theirs may well become a casus belli,” he said.
Medvedev railed against “NATO farts” who had miscalculated about Russia’s intentions time and again, first of all in their arrogant confidence that Russia would never invade Ukraine. If Western leaders believe Russia is not prepared to use nuclear weapons to defend its interests, they would be proven wrong again.
“The current military conflict with the West is developing according to the worst possible scenario,” he said.
“There is a constant escalation in the power of applicable NATO weapons.
“Therefore, today no one can rule out the transition of the conflict to its final stage.”
Putin’s warnings have been somewhat more measured than Medvedev’s, but no less minatory. On Tuesday, just two days before Washington’s quiet announcement, Putin told reporters in Uzbekistan, “This constant escalation can lead to serious consequences.”
“If these serious consequences occur in Europe, how will the United States behave, bearing in mind our parity in the field of strategic weapons?”
“Do they [the US] want a global conflict?”
Putin went on to warn Europe’s NATO members to “be aware of what they are playing with.”
“Countries with small territory and dense populations” should be particularly careful, Putin said.
Unlike his predecessor, Putin didn’t use the N word, but his reference to “small territory” and “dense populations” made clear that he only meant one thing.
The pretence that we are simply offering aid to the Ukrainians must end. We are engaged in a proxy war with Russia that’s fast becoming a direct war. The direction of travel is only one way. The Russians can see this.
Anyone with eyes can see it.
The French are now talking about assembling a “coalition of the willing” to send military personnel to Ukraine to train and direct Ukrainian forces on the ground. We know such personnel, including US and UK special forces, are already in Ukraine and have been for some time. But the arrival of “advisors” in large numbers will only be interpreted in one way by Moscow. And as the Ukrainians are beaten back further, pressure will only grow to provide fighting troops to hold the line…
None of this is to denigrate the Ukrainians, who have fought incredibly bravely in a desperate fight. But the Biden administration is dragging the US and its allies head on into a war with Russia. A war where nobody wins and everyone loses. The White House should make its intentions clear to the American people, but instead it just wants to make sure they’re not looking.
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