Ayanda Mdluli is the editor of the Daily News.
Image: Picture: David Ritchie/ Independent Newspapers
I have not found the inner strength to write in a while, but this is my assessment of the current state of global affairs and international politics, particularly when keeping up with the United States.
Recently, I found myself questioning the current charade of leadership in our chaotic world. With so many scientific advances and societal gains that have been made, why does it feel like humanity has taken ten steps back?
In the literal sense, it looks like we are ready to bomb each other back into the Stone Age. The culmination of the war involving Iran, the United States and Israel is one of the most disturbing conflicts we have witnessed in recent history.
As a scholar of International Relations, conflict in world politics has been one of my strongest interests.
From the Battle of Stalingrad, the Soviets' advance to Berlin (Battle of Berlin), the invasion of Manchuria by the Soviets, to the Vietnam War, the Korean War, Operation Desert Storm, and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, one would think that humanity would reach a stage where we evolve beyond killing one another.
The most alarming aspect of the current conflict between the US, Israel and Iran (Operation Epic Fury) is that these wars are not being fought by professional soldiers in the usual conventional way. High-tech warfare is at the forefront, with bombings carried out by drones and missiles controlled from underground military facilities.
This is alarming. On top of the miscalculations by the US are the blatant lies being peddled by sections of the mainstream media regarding the state of the conflict.
I never thought I would see the day, but we are now living in a world seemingly run by individuals whose depths of depravity and actions are increasingly exposed.
The people behind these global conflicts are warmongers driven by profit and aligned with the Military Industrial Complex. They are hypocrites and the real extremists who risk plunging the world into a nuclear catastrophe.
It is as if we are living in a simulation that resembles a lucid dream — more theatre than reality. Not only are we dealing with aggressive leaders who are misguided and misinformed, but they are also morally compromised and threaten global stability.
As tensions continue to escalate in Iran and around the Strait of Hormuz, my assessment of the Donald Trump administration is that it reflects a systemic failure in which voters, disillusioned by mainstream politics, choose figures that symbolise rebellion against established norms, regardless of the potential consequences.
However, the conspiracy theorist in me suggests that the individual at the helm may be less significant than the entrenched power structures that dictate global governance.
What if, beneath the surface of Trump's bravado and political theatrics, the true mechanisms of power continue unabated, influenced by unseen forces?
What if Trump, who occupies the presidency, is merely a facade for deeper operations at play?
The reason I ask is that Trump was elected by voters who were frustrated with politicians in general.
His meteoric rise to the presidency was met with ridicule and scorn from the upper echelons of political power.
Even some of his most prominent allies, such as JD Vance, Ted Cruz and Lindsey Graham, were once critical of him and contributed to that ridicule. His election was, in many ways, a protest vote, as large numbers of voters turned out to support him.
As things stand, we may never fully understand who truly holds power, whether under a Democratic or Republican presidency — conflict appears to persist regardless.
What distinguishes the current situation is the perception that Trump's leadership exposes these dynamics more openly. Unfortunately, this comes at the cost of innocent lives, with women and children caught in the devastating consequences of war.
DAILY NEWS