This is Woodward's 'war', from Biden insults to the risk of atomic conflict

Bob Woodwardin the century Robert Upshur Woodward, rightly so a legend of American and international journalism. Hat 81 years old and with a long, honored and sometimes controversial career behind him: with his colleague Carl Bernstein, he is the author of the legendary 1972 scoop on Water gate – which ultimately led to the resignation of Richard Nixon.
He left the Washington Post in 2008, but apparently has no plans to enjoy retirement at all.

After the famous “All the President's Men”, written with Bernstein and subject of a film that won four Oscars, produced 20 other books on American and world politics, but not only that. From now on, on October 15, his work number 21 will be released: it is called “WAR“, or “War”, title in capital letters on the cover, subtitle “At the center of conflicts, at the heart of power”.

It is no coincidence that the book comes out a few days from November 5the day of presidential perhaps the most uncertain in American history: with Trump and Harris, almost tied in the polls, champions of two Americas as different as they are irreconcilable.

The editorial strategies of investigative journalism, as is the case everywhere in the world, including in Italy, focus heavily on the drip-drip of advances. Better yet, “revelations» which should arouse interest and controversy.

Thus, exactly a week after the arrival of “WAR” on the shelves of bookstores, the agencies are listing a few extracts from the book intended to spark discussion – and to provoke reactions, even complaints, from the protagonists mentioned in the text. It goes without saying that these are high-level protagonists: from outgoing US President Joe Biden to Russian President Vladimir Putin, from Donald Trump to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The promise is clear: say the background of the mighty of the Earthof their conflicts, of their handshakes under the table.

So let's see some of them. Starting with Trump, to whom Woodward devoted an entire book in 2018 in which the brevity of the title did not hide the underlying thesis: “Fear”. Another publication, in 2020, goes further: the title here was “Anger”.

This secret thread between Trump and Putin

THE relations between Trump and Putin have always been the subject of analysis and speculation: too many poorly concealed sympathies between the two leaders, rivals in the geopolitical role but somehow similar in political vision – so much so that they boast of good relations.
During the 2016 presidential campaign, for example, Trump provocatively asked Moscow to find and make public certain emails that his opponent Hillary Clinton allegedly sent from a personal account and then deleted: “Russia, if you Look, I hope you can find the 30,000 missing emails.”

Well, according to Woodward, Trump has sent to Putin of the COVID-19 testing machines for personal use, when the virus began spreading in 2020. Putin asked Trump not to tell anyone, but Trump responded that he didn't care.

And not only that: Donald Trump would have had seven private phone calls with Putin Also After having left the office of president. Woodward reports that in early 2024, Trump asked an aide to leave the room at his Mar-a-Lago resort so he could have a private call with Putin.

There first reaction of Trump at these previews is entrusted to a man from his campaign: Steven Cheung, communications director. According to which nothing in Woodward's books is a real story. It is, says Cheung, “the work of a truly demented and deranged man.”

The stormy relationship between Biden and Netanyahu

Joe Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu have known each other for some time, but everyone knows that beyond the superficial smiles their relationship has never been excessively friendly. Just days ago, Biden said he did not know whether the Israeli leader was blocking a Middle East peace deal also to influence the US presidential elections.

THE “frustrations and distrustBiden's comments against Netanyahu “exploded” last spring, Woodward writes. The president reportedly unleashed a private tirade full of insultscalling him a “son of a bitch”. Biden reportedly said Netanyahu “regularly lied to him.” While Netanyahu “continues to say he would kill every last member of Hamas,” Biden responded that this was impossible, threatening both privately and publicly to stop massive U.S. arms shipments to Israel.

Netanyahu is a “liar” who is only interested in his political survivalBiden reportedly said. This is also the case for most of the Israeli Prime Minister's collaborators, 18 out of 19. Last April, Netanyahu promised Biden that the Rafah offensive would last only three months.

“The Israelis always do that,” was the reaction, according to Woodward’s reconstruction of Brett McGurk, Biden’s Middle East coordinator. Despite this, the book emphasizes that the Biden administration never fundamentally changed its policy toward Israel.

Putin's atomic temptations

Months after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Woodward writes, the United States obtained intelligence indicating “highly sensitive and credible conversations within the Kremlin” that Vladimir Putin was seriously involved. consider using nuclear weapons to avoid heavy losses on the battlefield.

US intelligence indicated a 50% chance that Putin would use tactical nuclear weapons if Ukrainian forces surrounded the 30,000 Russian troops deployed in the southern city of Kherson, the book says. A few months earlier, in the far northeast, Ukrainian troops had stunned the Russians by retaking Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest city, and were preparing to retake Kherson.

According to the book, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan read the intelligence report “with terror.” Biden asked Sullivan to “contact the Russians and tell them what the United States was going to do in response.” Biden said he used threatening language but not too strong. Ultimately, Biden decided to contact Putin directly with a message, warning him of the “catastrophic consequences“If Russia had used nuclear weapons.