Americans are distracted from the Ukraine war. That is, the war to save civilization from Russian barbarism.
American news media, even the best, are not good at picking out what is really significant in the daily torrent of news and explaining to audiences why a particular news development is really important.
Still, Europeans are closer to the war in Ukraine, and there is evidence that some of their leaders, including those in Britain and France as well as Poland and Eastern Europe are following the situation very closely and are beginning to react to Russian aggression and barbarism, which threatens not only Europe but the whole world.
British foreign minister David Cameron has announced a significant military aid package for Ukraine, and stated that he doesn’t mind if Ukraine uses British-supplied weapons to attack targets in Russia. President Emmanuel Macron of France has recently said that if the Russians break through the Ukrainian lines, France would have to consider very seriously a request from Ukraine to send French ground troops to the country.
The current situation is grave. The Russians are making significant advances on the grounds as their cities and critical infrastructure are subject to devastating attacks, all the more devastating due to inadequate sir defenses, Russian advances on the ground are largely due to the failure of the U.S. to supply urgently-needed munitions, particularly artillery shells, as a result of Republicans on the House holding up Biden’s $60 billion military aid package for six months.
Meanwhile, back in the U.S., decision-makers are distracted in the Ground-Hog-Day spectacle of debates over the livelihood of a temporary cease-fire in Gaza in exchange for a certain number of hostages, and the demonstrations on campus which at bottom are a reaction to Israel’s continuation of its war against Gaza, which has led to over 34,000 deaths since October 7, 2023.
Ground Hog Day includes, of course, the endless fascination of American withs the details of whatever Donald Trump is doing at the moment. In recent days he has been sitting through his first criminal trial. News coverage fails to remind viewers and readers, at every junction, of the specific crimes Trump is accused of and the overwhelming evidence supporting the charges.
One of the candidates for the presidency is an apparent master criminal who sought to overthrow the Constitution, but you would never know that from the news coverage. And if you are like the half of the population which has no memory–maybe it’s a much higher percentage, actually–you might think Trump is just another candidate.
Whatever happens in Gaza and the Middle East, it will be dwarfed in significance if Russia wins the war in Ukraine.
That is where leaders’ attention should be focused, as it is now in Great Britain and France.
American soldiers may pay the price in future years, as they did in World War II, but for now America’s leaders are simply whistling in the dark.
Endlessly distracted by the Ground-Hog-Day spectacle of international and national politics.
Everything repeats, day after day.
Until it doesn’t.