Inviting ourselves

As a member of the community of nations, the Philippines has certain obligations, one of which is to contribute whatever it can, within the limits of its resources, to international peacekeeping and humanitarian missions.

I have nothing against sending a Philippine humanitarian team to Iraq, even if taxpayers have to shoulder the team’s expenses for at least the first 30 days, estimated at around P60 million. But our government should avoid any rush, and wait for a clear invitation from the coalition.

Until yesterday afternoon there was no such invitation. As far as I know our government, in a decision approved by the National Security Council shortly before the start of the war, invited itself to Iraq.

The official line, which we’ve heard for many days now from Malacañang and the departments of defense and foreign affairs, is that we are still waiting for a formal request from Tampa, Florida. That’s home to the US Central Command, which has jurisdiction over the Iraqi theater.

A three-man Filipino "advance team" has been in Tampa for two weeks now, ostensibly hammering out the details of the deployment of the Philippine contingent. The way events are unfolding in Iraq, the advance team could be in Tampa forever.

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There will be plenty of time for peacekeeping – if the occupation forces ask for peacekeepers outside the coalition. The Americans want to set up a democratic government in Iraq, and that isn’t going to happen overnight. Despite growing anti-US rallies by Iraqis who are being encouraged by newly empowered imams, the Americans are bound to be in Iraq for some time. Plenty of time for us to contribute our small share in building a democratic republic in that part of the world.

It’s worth bearing in mind that if Iraqis want Americans out of their country, they would most likely want other foreign meddlers out, too. They didn’t invite the Americans and Brits, and neither have they invited us.

Unless there was a phone conversation between President Arroyo and US President George W. Bush that we haven’t been told about, I don’t remember Washington asking Manila to send a humanitarian team to Iraq. Before we send anyone to Iraq, we better make sure Filipino presence there at this early stage would be welcomed, if not by the Iraqis, then at least by coalition forces.

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In fact what is noticeable is that the Americans and Brits, obviously smarting from the rebuff by the UN Security Council and allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, appear to be avoiding asking anyone for help in post-Saddam Iraq. Washington has ignored bleating from Hans Blix, the United Nations’ chief weapons inspector, that he should return to Iraq to finish his task. The American response: US soldiers can handle the job, thank you.

Washington has also shrugged off noises from the "coalition of the unwilling" to let the UN take over post-war Iraq, particularly the reconstruction part. Retired US Lt. Gen. Jay Garner is now in Baghdad, serving as "civil administrator" – the most powerful man in Iraq during the American occupation. Some of the biggest rebuilding projects have been awarded to two of the top US companies: Bechtel and Halliburton.

When France announced the other day that it wanted UN sanctions on Iraq suspended, Washington responded with a pointed statement from US Secretary of State Colin Powell that Paris must face consequences for its stiff opposition to the war in Iraq.

The coalition hasn’t stopped the arrival of relief goods and medical volunteers in Iraq, so maybe Philippine health workers will be welcome there. But I don’t know how many health workers we can spare when we have our hands full trying to contain Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, and health workers are among the most vulnerable to SARS. We could end up exporting SARS to the Middle East.

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The Philippine humanitarian team will have 300 soldiers, 100 policemen and 100 health workers. Obviously it’s more of a peacekeeping contingent.

I haven’t heard of any country sending peacekeeping teams to Iraq. There have been so many jokes about the coalition needing Philippine cops to find Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction. But seriously, we should be able to take a hint. If our cops and soldiers will simply get in the way of coalition forces, they better just stay home. Remember, Bush still hasn’t declared the war over; the coalition is still engaged in mopping-up operations, looking for those weapons of mass destruction, hidden wealth and Saddam Hussein himself.

And speaking of hidden wealth, now Central Command must also deal with looters among its ranks and among several journalists who covered the war. There I was watching cable TV, so impressed that US soldiers had not been tempted by $600 million in cash they had found in Iraq. It turns out that as soon as the soldiers’ interview was over, they helped themselves to part of their find — a whopping $900,000!

A Fox News engineer (promptly fired by the network) reportedly brought home 12 Iraqi paintings and tried to pass them off as gifts from the Iraqi people. There are still so many "souvenirs" lying around in devastated Iraq, and coalition forces have their hands full trying to stop looting by their own troops. I don’t think they’d want to watch out for foreign peacekeeping volunteers who might also be tempted to bring home gold-plated AK-47s, Iraqi gold trinkets and paintings of Saddam. I am not saying we will be sending looters to Iraq. But how many people can resist the temptation of gold or 600 million in abandoned greenbacks?

The speculation is that Malacañang is rushing the deployment of the team before President Arroyo embarks on her state visit to the United States next month. But I think the President is already assured of a warm welcome in Washington, whether or not the humanitarian team is deployed before her visit. So she can still think twice about this deployment. We shouldn’t go where we’re not invited. We’re gate-crashing, and there isn’t even any party yet.

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WHAT GOES UP… stays up in the world of oil companies. Global crude prices are plunging and the wells of southern Iraq have resumed pumping oil. How come all we get from the oil companies is a measly fuel price reduction of 30 centavos per liter? The oil firms raise prices at the drop of a hat, but when it comes time to roll back prices, consumers have to wait an eternity.