There should be no doubt in the mind of anyone sane that the world is in a humongous mess. Two old men – US President Donald J Trump and Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – have played an outsize role in creating this global mess. They are the two principal culprits involved in launching a war of choice against Iran, which has resulted in death and destruction across West Asia, led to the closure of the Straits of Hormuz, and to economic consequences that are arguably among the underlying factors fuelling public unrest in France, other parts of Europe, and India.
Trump, 80, and Netanyahu, 77, are still not done. They have of late been rattling their sabres in a push for more death and destruction. The timing coincides with elections in both countries. While Israel goes to the polls on October 27, the US will have its midterm polls on November 3. Trump and Netanyahu both face imminent defeats, but are desperate to cling on to power at any cost – a charge that in Netanyahu’s case has been made most recently by sources within his own military, whose censors allowed the publication of a report alleging that the Israel Defence Forces Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir had been in an “unprecedented confrontation” with the PM following pressure from him to initiate fresh operations against Iran with an eye on the polls.
