Alliances fracture and authoritarians collide, as Trump, Putin and Netanyahu push the world into an unmarked minefield.DaveDonovanissues a stark warning.
ISRAELI PRIME MINISTERBenyamin Netanyahusstatementthis week, 19 August 2025, that history will remember Australian PMAnthony Albaneseas a weak politician who betrayed Israel and abandoned Australia's Jews is a sign of the rapid disintegration of the worlds rules-based order or what we had come, since WW2, to regard as the commonly held perception of such a thing.
It was always somewhat illusory, this so-called order, but the Israeli PM has thrown yet another rock into the global pond with these intemperate statements to alter its reflection and perception.
Meanwhile, to shatter the mirror entirely came U.S. PresidentDonald Trumps meetings with Russian dictatorVladimir Putinand the leader of the nation he has beset and besieged, UkrainesVolodymyr Zelenskyy. To all intents and purposes, Trump suggested that the country he leads supports Putins mighty empire, Americas bitterest Cold War arch-nemesis, and has abandoned its ally, Ukraine.
Meanwhile, China sits idly by as a bellicose Trump crony tries to bully allies, such as Australia, into choosing a side in a potential war between the U.S. and China in Taiwan.
Fierce allies, such as Israel and Australia, are at loggerheads. Former Cold War enemies become seeming allies, though of course, Russia is playing Trump and the oldest land, China, is playing the long game, waiting for the parvenu U.S. to disintegrate under an impotent potentate of which they have seen a few. In short, the old world order is stone dead. Anyone who fails to comprehend this is still stuck in a 1950s fallout shelter. Or maybe the Stone Age. Which humanity may soon revert to if things dont go a certain way.
The spat between Australia and Israel is, of itself, probably of little import in terms of the overall global machinations. Two smallish, though well-armed, nations that act as relatively distant regional outposts of the current global superpower are having a squabble. No big deal except it is emblematic of the wider collapse.
The issue arose because Australia, one of Israels longest and most profoundly loyal allies, decided it could no longer ignore the flagrant human rights abuses and war crimes being carried out by Israel in its occupied Territories, Palestine. So its current Government did what 146 of 206 United Nations member states had already done since Israel occupied the British-mandated Palestine in 1948 and recognised Palestine as a nation. This is set to be formalised at a United Nations Assembly in September.
Israel, however, being the United States closest ally, armaments recipient and protectorate, felt free to disparage Australia, another of Americas most loyal, long-term war allies and multiple current defence pact partners, including via petty diplomatic tactics. America supported Israel in this fracas and condemned Australias actions in further isolating Israel within the world community, it now being supported by America and a dwindling number of other Western nations. This is a sign of an empire in decline. Of a dysfunctional global system spinning further out of control.
But what signifies most clearly its rapid decay and descent towards disaster is Trumps meetings with Putin and Zelenskyy. The exuberant pictures of Putin and Trump together, contrasted with the smug and solemn expressions on the respective faces of Trump and Zelenskyy, told as much as the substance of the two meetings. In effect, Trump granted Putin his every demand, while Zelenskyy was told to surrender part of his nations sovereignty. Because his nation was weak and Russia was strong.
This was in keeping with the outrageously unstatesmanlike dismissal of the national aspirations represented by Zelenskyy at their earlier Oval Office summit cum fiasco. Then, Zelenskyy had no cards, said Trump scornfully. This time, he said the same, but with a trifle less bumptiousness.
It is clear that Trump is an agent of Moscow through Putin at least in some capacity. What exactly Putin has over Trump is still unclear. What we do know is that Trump is a liar and a fraud, who is willing to use the perquisites of office in the venal pursuit of his own personal gain. It might be that Putin has promised Trump some prime Russian or even Ukrainian real estate upon which to establish another of his gaudy casinos, resorts and/or golf courses.
Or it could be that Putin has something over Trump and is blackmailing him. We know that Trump is a notorious self-professed philanderer and convicted sex offender. And that many other alleged victims have come forward seeking justice. We know that he was mentioned in an apparently official dossier relating to certainsalacious activitiesin a Moscow brothel. We know he was friends with the lateJeffrey Epstein, a convicted purveyor of underage persons for the sexual gratification of well-connected people. And that he has refused to release the Epstein files, which allegedly mention his involvement in these activities. And that he has recently made Epsteins partner in crime,Ghislaine Maxwell, convicted of enabling Epsteins notorious activities, into minimum security detention, some apparently beyond his remit as President.
We also know that Putin is a former head of the Russian Secret Service and so would, presumably, have a detailed dossier able to confirm or deny whether Trump was a party to any of these sorts of nefarious activities something Trump has strenuously denied in recent times.
It could be speculated that Trumps support of Israel, given his stated desire to turn Gaza into a resort andIsraels Secret Services superlative subterfuge being regarded as better even than Russias perhaps the best in the world may be motivated by similar considerations to those outlined above. Independent Australia can only speculate and deduce, as can any of us not privy to any such secret salaciousness.
On the other hand, China is seen as no slouch when it comes to state surveillance, yet Trump and his gormless apparatchik,Pete Hegseth, both seem eager to engage China in possible confrontation, perhaps over Taiwan. Indeed, Australia has been asked to say if it would go to war if America and China warred in that apparently integral, yet U.S.-imperialised, part of the Chinese Communist Republic.
Australia was indeed asked whether it would war with America if it decided to go toe-to-toe with China in Taipei. Albanese showed his first sign of shrinking subservience to the States by saying Australia was an independent nation and would make its own decisions as they arose not on incendiary hypotheticals. Good for Albo.
But does Trumps belligerence towards China, also carried out through a fruitless trade war, suggest Chinese spies have been unable to find any candid snaps of Trump he may fear being revealed? Interesting. Perhaps this means Trump is, if not as pure as driven snow, perhaps as fresh as day-old New York sleet.
Who knows? Perhaps China, the ages-old master ofGo, is happy to let Russia make America implode and casually mop up most of the spoils. It is already well on the way to owning everything.
The problem is, if America collapses and Israel is left friendless, it might under a lunatic like Netanyahu decide to unleash its nuclear arsenal. Probably obliterating as many Arabs as they can reach and, most probably, all of Zion in the process. Does Israel have intercontinental ballistic missile capability? Their nuclear secrets have never been fully revealed, after all. Could they reach Sydney or maybe even Canberra with a warhead? (Just asking for a friend.)
The world is on the brink of a minefield, and we are being shooed into it by a bunch of madmen and greedy opportunists. Better make sure we are very careful. Maybe hiding out in a 1950s fallout shelter aint such a bad idea after all?
Good luck. Try to stay safe.
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FollowDave Donovanon X/Twitter@davroszand [email protected],as well as this publication, Independent Australia on [email protected], X/Twitter@independentausandFacebook.
