John Luker
@johngl.bsky.social
Retired teacher, teacher educator. Now a part-time doctoral student and blog editor. Also a keen hobby woodworker who spends far too much of his pension on new woodworking kit 😁. No DMs thanks.
This piece makes one thing unmistakable: the Miami back-channel isn’t an embarrassment but a symptom of a presidency that has lost the confidence of its own allies and advisers. This long-form article means the quiet parts are already being said loudly inside the system.
November 27, 2025 at 2:49 PM
This piece makes one thing unmistakable: the Miami back-channel isn’t an embarrassment but a symptom of a presidency that has lost the confidence of its own allies and advisers. This long-form article means the quiet parts are already being said loudly inside the system.
Panic in Trumpworld
Restraint from further backchannels
Reassertion of formal diplomacy
Europe regaining its footing
Congress demanding answers
Russia losing informational leverage
Good result all round
Restraint from further backchannels
Reassertion of formal diplomacy
Europe regaining its footing
Congress demanding answers
Russia losing informational leverage
Good result all round
November 27, 2025 at 12:04 PM
Panic in Trumpworld
Restraint from further backchannels
Reassertion of formal diplomacy
Europe regaining its footing
Congress demanding answers
Russia losing informational leverage
Good result all round
Restraint from further backchannels
Reassertion of formal diplomacy
Europe regaining its footing
Congress demanding answers
Russia losing informational leverage
Good result all round
And with Bloomberg already publishing call transcripts showing how talking points were being shaped for Moscow and relayed back into the process, the timeline still has gaps. The question now is what other conversations ran alongside that channel, and who was actually tracking them.
#Witkoff
#Witkoff
November 26, 2025 at 8:28 AM
And with Bloomberg already publishing call transcripts showing how talking points were being shaped for Moscow and relayed back into the process, the timeline still has gaps. The question now is what other conversations ran alongside that channel, and who was actually tracking them.
#Witkoff
#Witkoff
The real concern now is structural. A sanctioned conduit, a private meeting, and a Russian document all feeding into US policy language without tripping any of the usual guardrails. This isn’t just irregular diplomacy, it’s a vulnerability that needs explaining.
#Russia #Ukraine #Witkoff
#Russia #Ukraine #Witkoff
November 26, 2025 at 8:28 AM
Still striking that nobody is asking the obvious: whoever leaked two Kremlin-side calls to Bloomberg clearly had sustained access to Russian senior comms. Whether that’s Western SIGINT or an unhappy insider, the back-channel wasn’t just ‘found out’, it was burned.
November 25, 2025 at 10:55 PM
Still striking that nobody is asking the obvious: whoever leaked two Kremlin-side calls to Bloomberg clearly had sustained access to Russian senior comms. Whether that’s Western SIGINT or an unhappy insider, the back-channel wasn’t just ‘found out’, it was burned.
Who opened that door? Who monitored it? And why is the press avoiding the simplest question: what system failure let this run long enough to matter?
November 25, 2025 at 1:07 PM
Who opened that door? Who monitored it? And why is the press avoiding the simplest question: what system failure let this run long enough to matter?
What’s most telling here is that everyone is dissecting the plan, but almost no one is interrogating how a sanctioned back-channel was allowed to shape it in the first place.
November 25, 2025 at 1:07 PM
What’s most telling here is that everyone is dissecting the plan, but almost no one is interrogating how a sanctioned back-channel was allowed to shape it in the first place.
What’s really striking is how many people, looking at the Miami timeline on their own terms, are arriving at the same conclusions. Sometimes the story shifts simply because everyone notices the same gaps at the same moment.
November 23, 2025 at 11:01 PM
What’s really striking is how many people, looking at the Miami timeline on their own terms, are arriving at the same conclusions. Sometimes the story shifts simply because everyone notices the same gaps at the same moment.
3/
So the next questions practically ask themselves: Who removed the oversight? Who knew what was happening in real time? And how did a process this irregular get so close to becoming US policy? That’s where the story is heading now.
So the next questions practically ask themselves: Who removed the oversight? Who knew what was happening in real time? And how did a process this irregular get so close to becoming US policy? That’s where the story is heading now.
November 23, 2025 at 10:30 PM
3/
So the next questions practically ask themselves: Who removed the oversight? Who knew what was happening in real time? And how did a process this irregular get so close to becoming US policy? That’s where the story is heading now.
So the next questions practically ask themselves: Who removed the oversight? Who knew what was happening in real time? And how did a process this irregular get so close to becoming US policy? That’s where the story is heading now.
2/
The 28 point plan is almost a distraction. The real issue is how a Russian envoy ended up shaping a proposal with a private intermediary while senior officials in Washington were either sidelined or kept out of the loop entirely.
The 28 point plan is almost a distraction. The real issue is how a Russian envoy ended up shaping a proposal with a private intermediary while senior officials in Washington were either sidelined or kept out of the loop entirely.
November 23, 2025 at 10:30 PM
2/
The 28 point plan is almost a distraction. The real issue is how a Russian envoy ended up shaping a proposal with a private intermediary while senior officials in Washington were either sidelined or kept out of the loop entirely.
The 28 point plan is almost a distraction. The real issue is how a Russian envoy ended up shaping a proposal with a private intermediary while senior officials in Washington were either sidelined or kept out of the loop entirely.
1/
It’s becoming clear the Miami meeting wasn’t an eccentric detour, it was a moment when the usual national security guardrails simply weren’t there. Once you see that, the rest of the story looks very different.
It’s becoming clear the Miami meeting wasn’t an eccentric detour, it was a moment when the usual national security guardrails simply weren’t there. Once you see that, the rest of the story looks very different.
November 23, 2025 at 10:30 PM
1/
It’s becoming clear the Miami meeting wasn’t an eccentric detour, it was a moment when the usual national security guardrails simply weren’t there. Once you see that, the rest of the story looks very different.
It’s becoming clear the Miami meeting wasn’t an eccentric detour, it was a moment when the usual national security guardrails simply weren’t there. Once you see that, the rest of the story looks very different.
It’s taken a few days, but the penny is dropping: the 28-point plan wasn’t a diplomatic breakthrough, it was a case study in how effectively Moscow can work around US systems when the usual guardrails are removed.
November 23, 2025 at 10:22 PM
It’s taken a few days, but the penny is dropping: the 28-point plan wasn’t a diplomatic breakthrough, it was a case study in how effectively Moscow can work around US systems when the usual guardrails are removed.
Has Axios clarified how the document was provided to them and whether it came through U.S. officials, political operatives, or a foreign-linked intermediary?
November 23, 2025 at 12:13 PM
Has Axios clarified how the document was provided to them and whether it came through U.S. officials, political operatives, or a foreign-linked intermediary?
A fair question. At the very least it raises concerns about how the document reached Axios and whether the outlet was used, intentionally or not, to give the plan an air of legitimacy. Transparency about the source would help everyone understand what happened.
November 23, 2025 at 12:13 PM
A fair question. At the very least it raises concerns about how the document reached Axios and whether the outlet was used, intentionally or not, to give the plan an air of legitimacy. Transparency about the source would help everyone understand what happened.
Why were the State Department, the NSC, and Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg excluded from drafting or reviewing the 28-point plan?
Who else was in the room in Miami? Was anyone from the Russian business or IC orbit present?
Who actually authored or green-lit the plan in the White House?
Who else was in the room in Miami? Was anyone from the Russian business or IC orbit present?
Who actually authored or green-lit the plan in the White House?
November 23, 2025 at 11:40 AM
Why were the State Department, the NSC, and Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg excluded from drafting or reviewing the 28-point plan?
Who else was in the room in Miami? Was anyone from the Russian business or IC orbit present?
Who actually authored or green-lit the plan in the White House?
Who else was in the room in Miami? Was anyone from the Russian business or IC orbit present?
Who actually authored or green-lit the plan in the White House?
What I’d like to know is:
Who, by name, approved the sanctions waiver that allowed Kirill Dmitriev to enter the United States?
Did any U.S. agency formally object to Dmitriev’s involvement or the Miami meeting before it took place?
Who, by name, approved the sanctions waiver that allowed Kirill Dmitriev to enter the United States?
Did any U.S. agency formally object to Dmitriev’s involvement or the Miami meeting before it took place?
November 23, 2025 at 11:40 AM
What I’d like to know is:
Who, by name, approved the sanctions waiver that allowed Kirill Dmitriev to enter the United States?
Did any U.S. agency formally object to Dmitriev’s involvement or the Miami meeting before it took place?
Who, by name, approved the sanctions waiver that allowed Kirill Dmitriev to enter the United States?
Did any U.S. agency formally object to Dmitriev’s involvement or the Miami meeting before it took place?
Reuters would have run many robust checks on this story before they ran it. What’s interesting to me is the usual road blocks were not there so they were empowered to publish. State, NSA, CIA, no push back? It’s the dogs that don’t bark that raise the most questions. Waiting now for leaks galore 🤔
November 22, 2025 at 9:21 PM
Reuters would have run many robust checks on this story before they ran it. What’s interesting to me is the usual road blocks were not there so they were empowered to publish. State, NSA, CIA, no push back? It’s the dogs that don’t bark that raise the most questions. Waiting now for leaks galore 🤔
If this is true I’m not sure folks realise the significance and possible major consequences. If it is the case then US allies will need to reappraise their intelligence relationship with the WH quickly and significantly. It could be seen now as compromised (or more compromised - allegedly).
November 22, 2025 at 3:20 PM
If this is true I’m not sure folks realise the significance and possible major consequences. If it is the case then US allies will need to reappraise their intelligence relationship with the WH quickly and significantly. It could be seen now as compromised (or more compromised - allegedly).
And according to the PQ written reply I received from the MOD in August there are no plans other than military procurements. It’s a good job that Poland’s civilian population is much better prepared than we are after last night’s events.
open.substack.com/pub/johngl55...
open.substack.com/pub/johngl55...
When the Sirens Slept: What Civil Defence in Europe Can Teach the UK
Why Britain’s civilian readiness is falling behind — and what we can learn from our neighbours.
open.substack.com
September 10, 2025 at 7:50 AM
And according to the PQ written reply I received from the MOD in August there are no plans other than military procurements. It’s a good job that Poland’s civilian population is much better prepared than we are after last night’s events.
open.substack.com/pub/johngl55...
open.substack.com/pub/johngl55...
Sadly this is definitely not the case according to the letter I received in August in response to my PQ sent via my MP
open.substack.com/pub/johngl55...
open.substack.com/pub/johngl55...
When the Sirens Slept: What Civil Defence in Europe Can Teach the UK
Why Britain’s civilian readiness is falling behind — and what we can learn from our neighbours.
open.substack.com
September 10, 2025 at 7:41 AM
Sadly this is definitely not the case according to the letter I received in August in response to my PQ sent via my MP
open.substack.com/pub/johngl55...
open.substack.com/pub/johngl55...
Trump’s sudden pressure on Zelenskyy feels less like “policy” and more like desperation. In gangster politics, when the tone shifts from transactional to manic, it usually means the boss has called in a debt. Something may be breaking behind the scenes.
August 17, 2025 at 9:28 PM
Trump’s sudden pressure on Zelenskyy feels less like “policy” and more like desperation. In gangster politics, when the tone shifts from transactional to manic, it usually means the boss has called in a debt. Something may be breaking behind the scenes.