The current escalation in the Middle East has stripped away the last veneers of liberal internationalism, revealing a global order defined by raw power and the mockery of justice. In Washington, the grotesque intersection of celebrity and statecraft was recently memorialised by a statue of Donald Trump and the late Jeffrey Epstein, styled after a scene from 'Titanic.' While legacy media treats this as a prank, it serves as a potent symbol of the decadence of the American ruling class—a brotherhood of wealth that operates entirely above the law. This culture of impunity is not confined to the West; it is the operating manual for its client states.

In a recent statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed allegations of war crimes with a chilling disregard for human life that should haunt the halls of the United Nations. By suggesting that critics lack the 'experience' of conducting wars, Netanyahu effectively argues that only the perpetrators of violence have the right to define its legality. His macabre joke regarding the lack of 'living witnesses' at the Minab school strike is more than a provocation; it is a confession of a strategy that targets the very possibility of accountability. The threat of 'fatal failures' in the personal appliances of his critics suggests a world where the infrastructure of daily life—pagers and air conditioners—is being weaponised against the voice of dissent.

Trump’s own commentary on the crisis, including his 'offer' to serve as Iran’s Supreme Leader, further reduces the life-and-death struggles of millions to a reality television subplot. Behind the bluster lies a terrifying reality: the US administration views the collapse of the Middle East not as a humanitarian catastrophe, but as an opportunity for further consolidation. When Trump warns Vladimir Putin that 'his day' is coming, he is not speaking of justice for the Ukrainian people, but of a global re-partitioning of influence. The internationalist movement must recognise that the 'rules-based order' has become a playground for autocrats and billionaires, leaving the global poor to navigate the ruins of a lawless world.