Friday, July 13, 2007

We Are All Abu Sayyaf Now

The Philippines has SEVENTEEN decapitations to its name just this year alone, starting with those seven young men kidnapped for ransom and beheaded last April by the Abu Sayyaf's Al-Bader Parad. Add to that this past week's ten Marines who were beheaded andmutilated reportedly by Isnilon Totoni Hapilon, who has a five million dollar bounty on his sorry head.

But the Philippines now has the terrible distinction of being the Decapitation Capital of the world. Not even in places where they stone the women for adultery in darkest Africa and chop off robbers hands and women’s clitorises, as in the House of Saud, have they had ten of their soldiers beheaded by “bandits” and then have the biggest newspaper call for more and fairer peace negotiations with the cutthroats that did it:
PDI: Savages on the Loose -- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo called it right. Last Tuesday’s ambush of a search-and-rescue military convoy in Albarka, Basilan -- 14 Marines looking for kidnapped Italian missionary Fr. Giancarlo Bossi were killed, 10 of them beheaded -- was a bestial act, the work of savages. To this deliberate provocation the national leadership must respond with both iron fist and open mind. The Armed Forces of the Philippines must bring the savages to justice. But the government must also push peace negotiations with Moro separatists, finally, to a fair conclusion.
How does one respond with an "iron fist" and and "open mind"?? Does the paper mean the government ought go ahead and bribe the MILF leaders with ancestral domain grants all over Morolandia in those so-called peace talks? Then have the NMLF (Next Moro Liberation Front) split off the main trunk of crooked warlord timber and begin a new belligerency?

The editorial uses all the right buzz words, but it is dripping with insincerity, disingenuity and manages to blame the authorities for the tragedy. The motivation of the editorial is to embarrass the govt and excuse the terrorists.

Now mercifully they didn’t take video in Basilan, but in the world of horrors, nothing horrifies like for example those head choppings done by what look like teenage boys sawing off another human being’s head.

We are now automatically in the big leagues of that subterranean class of savages.

We are the Porno Stars of the Real World of Snuff films.

We are National Geographic material.

We are head-hunters, as of old.

We are savages and amoks worthy of having new calibers invented to deal with our savagery.

These are the ineluctable messages about us going out into the world.

They are not true!

And this is what I hate the most about the Abu Sayyaf.

They have convinced strangers that we are all Abu Sayyaf.

6 comments:

Ben Vallejo said...

The Armed Forces of the Philippines should DEFINITELY bring the terrorist-bandits to justice. But as we all know there are major hindrances to the effectiveness of the AFP. Now when you have mortar rounds that won't fire, what would that say? Corruption in the purchase of ordinance seems to rear its head here.

Well the Arroyo government has beheaded the old ROTC program where once as a young cadet I learned that success of the objective lies in the dependability of the ordinance and the weapons.

Fourteen dead Marines is no light matter for our Woman President.
These soldiers have fought for the Republic.

Now who are those idiots who publish opinions like the Marines should have not entered MILF controlled areas. Also that they should have asked permission.

THE REPUBLIC IS A SOVEREIGN POWER. The Republic's Armed Forces should be able to operate anywhere to achieve its objective as directed by lawful authority and command.

That's why we (Philippine citizens who are the source of this sovereignty) will have to crush and defeat all kinds of terrorists. The Abu Sayyaf, MILF, MNLF, Jose Maria Sison, the CPP-NDF-NPA and all their fronts.

If they disarm themselves and subject themselves to the law of the Republic, then we should have no problem.

Negotiations should never concede any bit of the sovereignty of the Republic.

john marzan said...

The Armed Forces of the Philippines should DEFINITELY bring the terrorist-bandits to justice. But as we all know there are major hindrances to the effectiveness of the AFP. Now when you have mortar rounds that won't fire, what would that say? Corruption in the purchase of ordinance seems to rear its head here.

Did you say corruption, Blacksharma? So saan ba napupunta ang mga US aid para sa military natin?

Deany Bocobo said...

john,
talking to a friend in the military, I am told that it is normal for some percentage of our stock of mortar rounds not to fire. Corruption may have something to do with it, but even the gma news crew did not say ALL the rounds misfired.

Marcus Aurelius said...

The mortar rounds thing is a dodge.

The point of DJB's post was not to criticize the weapons procurement or supply chains (which is an entirely different & large subject and Wretchard at the Belmont Club picks up that ball) in the AFP it was outrage over the mealy equivocating response of the PDI.

Perhaps there is some sympathy for the PDI view? Hey don't look at that article on the PDI's editorial, What the PDI editorial (and other similar ones in nations around the world) does is more damaging than dud mortar rounds. Mortar rounds and high-tech whiz bang weapons are material; we do not have a material problem so much as a spiritual problem. We do not want to fight.

Give a man who wants to fight a stick and a man who does not want to fight a .44 magnum and who wins?

Ben Vallejo said...

I hope you have tried to fire a mortar round. I underwent some FA training for a while.

I am not a soldier but a citizen who has had military training. As for corruption in the AFP and having firsthand experience, let me just say that I am an Army Brat!

Deany Bocobo said...

Blackshama,
At Fort Bonifacio yesterday...
It was hard to keep an open mind...
In front of those closed caskets...
Talking of army brats...
A few who were there, uncomprehending,
were scared of Papa!