Today's press tour includes an article discussing what it considers to be the US administration's wrong security perceptions about the United Kingdom, in light of the incident related to the British Royal Air Force base Fairford, another article calling on the West to adopt the language of force in dealing with Russia regarding the war in Ukraine, and a third article pointing to the potential dangers faced by children who spend a lot of time in front of screens.
We begin our tour of the newspapers with the British newspaper The Independent, which published an article entitled “Trump and Rubio overestimate the information they have,” by writer Sam Cayley. The writer comments on the controversy raised by the British police's release of five suspects who were arrested near the British Royal Air Force base, Fairford.
The conditional release surprised both US President Donald Trump and his Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, especially with the US administration insisting that the incident was a possible terrorist plot.
The writer says that US leaders will be among the last to know the real secrets kept by British intelligence, because they do not trust the White House enough to ensure that they are not leaked.
While the “Five Eyes” alliance arrangement remains in place, with the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom sharing almost all of their intelligence, the most sensitive information is sometimes excluded from wide circulation to avoid any leakage, especially since Trump has a record of disclosing information classified “for information only,” which is above the level of “top secret,” to other countries, including Russia, according to the article.
Regarding the British Fairford Air Base, writer Sam Cayley believes that the United States was informed of the existence of a potential threat or a potential plan to target the base. He added that the US National Security Agency may have monitored electronic communications that indicated the existence of a possible plot, but any additional information would have come from British intelligence services operating inside the United Kingdom, as American services are not allowed to operate inside the United Kingdom.
The writer also criticizes the Trump White House, saying that it is in a constant state of delusion about how the world works, and adopts false perceptions about the security situation in London derived from thriller series.
Kelly says that American officials do not realize the independence of the British police and judiciary from the government, and therefore they were surprised by the release of the suspects, despite reports that the group “did not possess usable explosives.”
The article adds that keeping Iran in the spotlight serves American interests, because it reinforces the general impression that it remains a source of instability, and supports the narrative that justifies the war that the United States and Israel started against Tehran.
The writer points out that the existence of an actual plot against the Fairford base has become “somewhat questionable,” and British intelligence may have overestimated a limited conspiracy and considered it a proxy operation against an American bomber base on British soil.
The writer concludes by saying: “But if it turns out that British intelligence made a mistake, the Americans may be the last to know about it, as no one wants Trump to come out in public to air their dirty laundry.”
We turn to an article published by the American newspaper The Washington Post entitled “De-escalation with Russia requires greater display of Western power,” written by the newspaper’s editorial board.
The article discussed what it described as ways to defuse the conflict in Ukraine as the Russian war in Ukraine enters its fifth winter, noting that Western countries that support Kiev find it extremely difficult to contain the cycle of violence.
The newspaper believes that any reduction in escalation with Moscow can only be negotiated from a position of strength, because the Kremlin is “testing weaknesses” and has so far sensed real reluctance from the West.
The Washington Post believes that things will not improve until this impression, which it described as dangerous, is dispelled, saying that every Russian escalation should make Moscow’s position worse, by countering attacks on Ukrainian cities with greater pressure on Russia, and attacks on Europe with greater European support for Ukraine, and reducing escalation should remain an available option, but only on the basis of reciprocity, according to the newspaper.
The article adds that the mistake repeated by the West, especially the administration of US President Donald Trump, is its perception that it stands outside this cycle of escalation, as Russian aggression has greatly prompted the West to once again search for negotiations instead of exerting counter-pressure.
The newspaper uses the US administration's campaign against Iranian financial institutions as a model that can be used to target Russian banks, the foreign institutions that deal with them, and the intermediaries who keep the Russian war economy connected to the world.
According to the Washington Post, this type of pressure does not aim to push Russian President Vladimir Putin to ask for peace, but rather will contribute to “making Moscow understand that escalation makes its position worse, not better.”
A study conducted on a large group of subjects in different parts of the world revealed that the negative impact of excessive screen use on children may be very similar to, or even exceed in severity, the effects of some factors related to children’s development, such as parental behavior or premature birth, according to an article published by The Guardian.
The researchers relied on data from more than 2.8 million children in 64 countries, in one of the largest studies to address this topic. The results concluded that prolonged exposure to screens may have a significant impact on several aspects of children's lives, including academic achievement, mental health, and language development.
