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Opinion

Dealing with extremists: A rattle snake logic

SHOOTING STRAIGHT - Bobit S. Avila - The Freeman

It's been more than a month since the Jan. 25th tragedy that happened to 44 elite Special Action Force  troopers who were sent on a secret mission to Mamasapano, Maguindanao and were killed by elements of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front which recently signed a Peace Treaty with the Government of the Philippines brokered by Malaysia. Call it ironic that the covert mission now called Oplan Exodus was to find that Malaysian terrorist Zulfikir Bin Hir a.k.a. Marwan who was killed in that mission. But to sacrifice 44 troopers for one man was a very high price to pay for Filipinos.

But somehow we see a divine hand in this tragedy because the ensuing investigation purportedly to ferret out the truth as to what happened to those SAF troopers have revealed many issues, especially that the 6th Infantry Division of the Philippine Army which was not so far away from Mamasapano were not told about the mission nor were they even called by the President to reinforce the beleaguered SAF troopers who were massacred by the MILF where 27 of them were still alive, but wounded, then shot in the head as we all saw on the video footage that was uploaded to Facebook.

Now the issue of this peace deal has become part of the national consciousness of the Filipino people. Frankly speaking, not many Filipinos realized the importance or the impact of the Bangsamoro Basic Law  until the Mamasapano debacle brought it into the limelight. Few people even knew that if the BBL were passed, the MILF would gain P70 billion for this deal from monies that we the taxpayer pays to the national coffers.

Yet, the Aquino Regime keeps so many things from the Filipino people, like the truth as to who ordered the Oplan Exodus mission. What fewer Filipinos even know is what is really the goal or objective of the MILF? The truth is crystal clear, if you checked what MILF founder Hashim Salamat once said about their objective, perhaps you too would go all out against the BBL because it would dismember the Philippines.

Hashim Salamat once said, "To make it very simple, our demand is independence. It means having a separate territory, a separate government, a separate armed forces, the power to tax, the power to exploit our natural resources, the power to conduct foreign affairs, the power to negotiate with other countries, including Manila." This message by Hashim Salamat is a no-brainer and if you are still pushing for the BBL after reading this then you are as stupid as the Aquino Regime.

Meanwhile the Armed Forces of the Philippines is supposed to be running after the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, but we all know that the MILF and the BIFF are somehow related in their objectives and perhaps even by blood. This is why we can never see peace if and when the BBL is passed. Meanwhile, I saw that very disturbing photo on Facebook that showed that the BIFF or MILF rebels flying the black flag of ISIS or the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. If you ask me, this is a cancer growing in our country and we should stop it before it becomes unstoppable. But how?

A friend of mine sent me this email which has gone viral in the social media networks. It is entitled Rattlesnake Logic. Allow me to reprint it here. 

"Here in west Texas, I have rattlesnakes on my place, living among us. I have killed a rattlesnake on the front porch. I have killed a rattlesnake on the back porch. I have killed rattlesnakes in the barn, in the shop and on the driveway. In fact, I kill every rattlesnake I encounter. I kill rattlesnakes because I know a rattlesnake will bite me and inject me with poison.

I don't stop to wonder why a rattlesnake will bite me; I know it will bite me because it's a rattlesnake and that's what rattlesnakes do. I don't try to reason with a rattlesnake or have a "meaningful dialogue" with it…I just kill it. I don't try to get to know the rattlesnake better so I can find a way to live with the rattlesnakes and convince them not to bite me. I just kill them. I don't quiz a rattlesnake to see if I can find out where the other snakes are, because (a) it won't tell me and (b) I already know they live on my place.

So, I just kill the rattlesnake and move on to the next one. I don't look  for ways I might be able to change the rattlesnake to a non-poisonous rat snake... I just kill it. Oh, and on occasion, I accidentally kill a rat snake because I thought it was a rattlesnake at the time. Also, I know for every rattlesnake I kill, two more are lurking out there in the brush. In my lifetime I will never be able to rid my place of rattlesnakes.

Do I fear them? Not really. Do I respect what they can do to me and my family? Yes!! And because of that respect, I give them the fair justice they deserve.... I kill them... As a country, we should start giving more thought to the fact that these jihadists' are telling the world their goal is to kill Americans and destroy our way of life. They are serious. They are exactly like rattlesnakes.

*  *  *

For email responses to this article, write to [email protected] or [email protected]. His columns can be accessed through www.philstar.com.

 

 

AQUINO REGIME

BANGSAMORO BASIC LAW

BANGSAMORO ISLAMIC FREEDOM FIGHTERS

DO I

HASHIM SALAMAT

KILL

MAMASAPANO

OPLAN EXODUS

RATTLESNAKE

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