Stamford, Conn. One of the things that I wanted to learn here in the US is how Filipinos living in the US perceive the Aquino presidency. To answer my question, my host John Gage printed for me a copy of an article from The Economist, dated May 31, 2014 entitled “Bayan: the Impossible Dream.†John showed the article to me to get my opinion. There was no author printed on the page, so we can assume that this article represented the thoughts of the editorial board.
After reading it, I found it to be so pro-Aquino, I wouldn’t be surprised if the one who wrote this article was an Aquino fan. Let me just quote the last part of the article on the Legacy Issues. We call it “Sip-sip!â€
“The President has done better than many expected but must know he cannot safeguard any of his reforms from a future government that chooses to be profligate or corrupt. He hopes voters will treat politics as they would a restaurant, have a good meal once and you might come back again. But one of his ambitions to transform Philippine politics from a personality based system into one based on parties—and, presumably platforms, politics and even ideologies—still appears a long way off.â€
It is obvious to me that the writer from The Economist has lost touch with what’s happening in the Philippines. They say that Pres. PNoy “has done better than expected.†What reforms is it talking about? What transformation of Philippine politics is it talking about? In short, what Legacy is the writer talking about? We know too well that if we do not force those reforms from within the political system, especially reforms from the Commission on Elections you can bet that the next president will be Jejomar Binay, and isn’t this the pinnacle of personality politics?
This is the perception of Pres. Aquino with many Filipinos living in the US. They have taken the yellow propaganda hook, line, and sinker. Articles like what The Economist has printed are read by so many, but it is so far detached from the reality in the Philippines. This is a very positive commentary about Pres. PNoy, yet we know too well what is happening back home in the Philippines!
Meanwhile, the big breaking news all over the US is that report happening in Iraq where radical Islamist militants are on the offensive, capturing many towns and cities that were once under the control of the US military. Worse of all, we saw that video on CNN where those insurgents executed many Iraqi military and police personnel who were once trained by the US military. If the US military won’t intervene soon, Iraq would be run by Islamist jihadists, something many people fear would happen.
In short, what is happening in Iraq is giving US Pres. Barrack Obama a major headache. The Iraq government is appealing to the International Community especially the US for military help and Pres. Obama simply refused to send US troops back to Iraq. The only troops that he sent were a hundred Marines to guard the US Embassy there. But will a hundred Marines be able to defend the US embassy? They could become juicy targets for jihadists and end up just like what happened in Benghazi, Libya.
What’s happening in Iraq has pushed Pres. Obama to a wall. Under his watch, he ended the presence of US military there and naturally, the insurgents were very happy that Pres. Obama has kept his word to pull out the US force stationed there. This is why the insurgents have mounted this new offensive.
Pres. Obama has also promised the return of US troops in Afghanistan and we can already tell that if they do pull out, the Taliban would do exactly the same thing the insurgents in Iraq have done. Then what? While I may agree that the War on Terror is a war that cannot be won, the US must seek a new kind of solution if it still wants to act as the world’s policeman.
I have no doubt that the Islamic jihadists are exploiting the weakness of Pres. Obama who refuses to send US troops to stop the fighting in Syria and in the Ukraine. If Pres. Bashar al-Assad’s government would fall, it would be the fault of Pres. Obama for not coming to his aid.
Meanwhile, in the Philippines, when Pres. Obama was here a couple of months ago, Pres. Aquino had Defense Sec. Voltaire Gazmin sign the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement with US Ambassador Philip Goldberg. But we really got nothing in return for this deal. Thankfully EDCA is now in the hands of the Supreme Court and it is hoped that this agreement would be declared unconstitutional.
Finally, let me say this… The Armed Forces of the Philippines has relied too much on meager US military aid. I dare say it is time to reproduce the Israeli model by also building our own self-defense capability because America as a partner has become too unreliable.
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Email: vsbobita@gmail.com