When the performance of the political animal in power loses its appeal, the animal turns to war

May this circus end sooner rather than later for the sake of all.

I. Introduction: When Performance Replaces Strategy

In March 2026, U.S. Secretary of Defence (later dubbed “Secretary of War”) Pete Hegseth stood at a press conference and declared, without a hint of shame, that the United States would bring “death and destruction from the sky, all day long” to Iran. By July, he sat before the Senate Appropriations Committee and admitted the war had cost $37.5 billion, that 18 U.S. troops had been killed and roughly 500 wounded, and that he was requesting nearly $70 billion more for Middle East operations.

Hegseth’s remarks were not a slip. They were a symptom. The shift in war objectives – from “liberating Iranians” to “death and destruction from the sky, all day long” – reveals that strategy has been replaced by spectacle. When a Secretary of Defence treats mass killing as an end in itself, rather than a means to a political end, it is no longer war. It is performance.

In the same week, more than 3,000 Israeli settlers, led by far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and heavily guarded by Israeli military and police, stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque. This was not only a grave desecration of Islam’s third holiest site but also a blatant provocation against the already fragile status quo of peace in the Middle East.

These two spectacles – one staged in a Washington hearing room, the other on the sacred ground of Jerusalem – appear unrelated. They are not. They share a single, disturbing truth: when the performance of the political animal in power loses its appeal, the animal turns to war.

II. Hegseth’s “Big Talk”: The Spectacle of Death and Destruction

2.1 “Death and Destruction from the Sky, All Day Long”

Hegseth’s rhetoric had detached itself from any strategic objective and become violence for violence’s sake. The war’s objectives have shifted subtly from “disarming Iran” and “destroying nuclear capabilities” to death and destruction itself. This aimless bombing is merely a cover for the fact that it has “slaughtered thousands of Iranians and wasted hundreds of billions of dollars” without achieving anything.

2.2 The Iran War: A Bottomless Pit

The war has already cost $37.5 billion. U.S. forces have suffered 18 killed and roughly 500 wounded. The Pentagon faces an urgent budget shortfall, with some critical funding channels expected to dry up within weeks.

At a Senate hearing, Hegseth faced fierce questioning. Senator Gary Peters told him directly: “Mr. Secretary, you are the failure.” Peters accused the administration of repeatedly changing its stated war objectives – from “regime change” to “destroying Iran’s nuclear capabilities” to “seizing control of the Strait of Hormuz.”

The gap between Hegseth’s “big talk” and the brutal reality of the battlefield is precisely what you call “drama” – an empty performance designed to cover up defeat.

III. Al-Aqsa Mosque: The Spark That Ignites a Powder Keg

More than 3,000 Israeli settlers, led by far-right Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and heavily guarded by Israeli military and police, stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Ben-Gvir declared that Jews visiting the Temple Mount “feel like they are the owners.”

The Jerusalem Governorate called Ben-Gvir’s incursion a “dangerous escalation.” Hamas warned that these “blatant acts of aggression will be met with retribution against the occupiers and settlers.” Jordan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned it as “a desecration of the sanctity of the mosque, an escalation, a barbaric act, and an unacceptable provocation.”

When fantasy becomes policy, reality pays the price.

IV. Conclusion: Two Farces, One Truth

Hegseth’s “death and destruction” rhetoric and Ben-Gvir’s provocative actions at Al-Aqsa, seemingly unrelated, are rooted in the same source.

• Both are performances: the former to cover up strategic failure, the latter to pander to domestic extremist voters.
• Both are products of desperation: the U.S. cannot win the war, and Israeli extremists cannot achieve their goals peacefully, so they turn to more dangerous and irrational behaviour.
• Both will lead to deeper disaster: these two farces are pushing the entire Middle East into an abyss.

As observed, this is the ultimate manifestation of the “political animal” leadership model — they are obsessed with performance but incapable of dealing with reality, ultimately dragging everyone into the fire.