Goodnight, Earth. Welcome, Armageddon by Robert Perez

There is a point in history when words lose their meaning, when 'defense' becomes a euphemism for aggression, and ‘security’ masks ambition. That point, it seems, is now and its epicentre lies in Tel Aviv, in the clenched fists and iron rhetoric of Benjamin Netanyahu. By lashing out not just at Gaza or Hezbollah, but now including Iran in his line of fire, Netanyahu isn't simply responding to threats; he is lighting the fuse of a regional inferno with the arrogance of a man who believes history will remember him as a savior, not as a pyromaniac.

Let's be clear: nobody disputes Israel’s right to defend itself. That’s not even the issue anymore. The issue is the scale, the disproportion, and most importantly, the expanding scope of what is being conveniently labelled a 'defensive war.' Because when your notion of defense involves bombing multiple sovereign states and baiting major world powers into action, the label 'imperialistic' isn't a slur, it's an observation.

Netanyahu, the eternal political survivor, has made an art out of crisis. With his grip on power as fragile as the region’s ceasefires, he knows that war is the most potent elixir for a troubled strongman. The trick is ancient: create an existential threat, define yourself as the only one capable of stopping it, and label all dissent as treachery. If this formula sounds familiar, it’s because we’ve seen it too many times and it never ends well.

Now, Iran is in the crosshairs. Not proxies. Not shadow militias. Iran itself. And dragging Iran into open conflict is not just a strategic risk; it’s a geopolitical suicide pact. And who’s the expected partner in that pact? Enter the United States or, more precisely, Donald Trump, the man who governs foreign policy with the finesse of a bar brawl and the attention span of a toddler on espresso. If Netanyahu’s gamble works, and he manages to seduce or provoke Trump into joining his crusade, then we might as well start counting the days until the fireworks become global.

Because from that point onward, it’s no longer a regional war. It's not even Middle East chaos as usual. It becomes a black hole, pulling in powers, alliances, and old rivalries like some geopolitical version of Jenga where every move risks collapse. Russia will not stand by watching its Iranian partner get bombed. China will not watch the U.S. flex its muscles unopposed. Europe, tired and confused, will wring its hands and issue statements that nobody reads. The global south will burn with rage, and terrorism, the one thing all these actors claim to oppose, will bloom like mushrooms after nuclear rain.

Netanyahu calls it defense. I call it delusion. Delusion wrapped in propaganda, dressed in historical trauma, and fueled by the personal ambition of a man who sees himself as Moses but acts more like Nero. And if Trump is lured into this theater, as Netanyahu clearly hopes, then Armageddon might not be an Old Testament metaphor anymore, it might be a Twitter announcement from the White House at 3 a.m., full of typos and threats.

And the Israeli people? The Iranian people? The Palestinians caught in the crossfire? Collateral. Always collateral. Their dreams, their dead, their cities reduced to ashes, all in the name of security, all in the shadow of leaders who speak peace while building tombs.

This isn’t hyperbole. This is the grim arithmetic of history. When leaders use ‘defense’ as a disguise for dominance, when diplomacy is reduced to drone strikes, and when allies become accomplices, then yes... goodnight, Earth. Welcome, Armageddon.

And no, it won’t be televised. It will be livestreamed, hashtagged, and algorithmically promoted, a war of clicks and corpses, of strategic hashtags and tactical lies.

But here’s the irony: the more Netanyahu escalates, the more he exposes the fragility of the very nation he claims to protect. Real security doesn’t come from bigger bombs or broader borders. It comes from legitimacy. And legitimacy doesn’t come at the end of a missile. It comes from justice, from dialogue, from recognizing that your neighbors pain is not your victory.

Until that truth is understood, the spiral will continue. And somewhere, deep in the noise, a tiny voice will ask: is this still defense? Or is it just madness with a flag?

Either way, the rest of us might want to start saying our goodbyes. Just in case.