This is only a hunch, but the foreign blogosphere seems far more interested in Philippine rebels behead 10 soldiers (see grim photos published by the Mindanao Examiner) than Filipino bloggers, particularly when it comes to commentary (simply reprinting entire news stories doesn’t cut it). What’s particularly interesting is this:
The government initially blamed Abu Sayyaf or renegade MILF militants for the kidnapping. However, the Roman Catholic news agency AsiaNews said criminal gangs were probably responsible for the abduction.
“The theory that Abu Sayyaf is behind the abduction of Fr Giancarlo Bossi does not hold water,” the news agency said. “Rather, from what we know, he is being held hostage by a gang of criminals.”
Among non-Filipino bloggers, the mood among the interested is grim unsurprise, as shown by Little Green Footballs. The Perpetual Malcontent, for one, seems exasperated by the AsiaNews story. WuzzaDem.com doesn’t think the American media is going to give the story the attention it deserves. as Minnesota Central puts it, there is a global war going on but media (including Bush-friendly media) doesn’t want to admit it. PrariePundit points out that while perhaps not very well known to Americans, the American-assisted campaign against the Abu Sayyaf represents “one of the most successful counterterrorism/counterinsurgency effort of the post-9/11period,” although the killing of the marines represents “a serious setback.” The blog relies heavily on Peter Brookes’ “The Forgotten Front,” which says,
The good news?
U.S.-Philippine operations have significantly weakened the terrorist group. Philippines forces have killed two senior ASG commanders since last December. One was sold out by an ASG member-turned-informant, motivated by the State Department’s rewards program.
Once 2,000 fighters strong, ASG’s been whittled down to around 200 to 300 today. As a result, its trademark bus and local market bombings have dropped off, as has its once-lucrative kidnapping practice. The threat has clearly receded.
But why has this operation shown success?
Indirect Approach: The United States isn’t doing the fighting. Philippine armed forces are – 15,000 of them, with 300 U.S. troops “advising and assisting.” Our forces are not only teaching counterinsurgency tactics and nighttime operations, they’re instructing the Filipinos to collect, analyze and fuse intelligence – even when it comes from a high-tech U.S. Predator drone.
This puts the local Philippine forces in the lead – and gives them the training and battlefield experience to provide a lasting capability that will endure long after the U.S. troops head home.
Hearts and Minds: A significant effort has been made to win local hearts and minds. U.S. and Philippine civil-affairs, humanitarian aid and exercises are helping separate the ASG from the general population. During regular joint “Balikatan” military exercises, Americans and Filipinos build roads, schools, water plants and piers that allow locals to build a better future for themselves – and instill trust and confidence in Manila.
Defense Reform: In 2002, the Pentagon undertook a bilateral program to help the Philippines identify much-needed defense reforms and boost our ally’s armed forces’ professionalization.
That extends to unsexy but vital areas such as maintenance and logistics. In 2001, Philippine military helicopters were mission-ready just 15 percent of the time. Today, those helos are ready for counterinsurgency 80 percent of the time.
Stick-to-itiveness: Despite up and downs in the bilateral relationship (especially when Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo withdrew forces from Iraq), Washington stuck to eliminating the ASG. Resolve makes a difference.
But the real question, it seems to me, is whether 10 Philippine Marines died at the hands of the Abu Sayyaf, or fell prey to a criminal gang. Philippine Commentary points to TV reporter sees empty houses before all hell breaks loose and gives a rundown of what happened; he’s particularly irked that the MILF issued a statement that the whole thing was in the nature of a command and control snafu, that they bore no responsibility but were quite gleefully willing to pick up weaponry from the battlefield.
if they were slain by the Abu Sayyaf, then did the terrorist group intercept the marines as they actually went after the bandits who have the Italian priest, or are the terrorists in league with the bandits, or trying to grab the bandits’ hostage? Whichever way you look at it, it seems a case of bad leadership on the part of the marines.
Let me say I am not a believer in the “see, people are dead! for their sake, abandon all your misgivings about current policy to fight terrorism!” way of arguing or thinking. I believe that this sort of argumentation strays very close to a terrorist mindset.
The President’s been making fire-breathing statements: 1st targets: Rogue AFP men, Reds, terrorists when it comes to the anti-terror law, which yesterday’s Inquirer editorial said should be reviewed now, rather than later. Study the law before making dire predictions, Palace tells critics of Human Security Act.
To help you figure out whether the opposition is valid or misguided, check out Part 1 and Part 2 of Geronimo L. Sy’s efforts to explain the anti-terror law’s provisions.
Meanwhile, AFP troops back in NCR.
In political news, on the evening of my last entry, the Comelec had already made a sudden volte-face: after Comelec flip-flops on Zubiri proclamation, it became COMELEC defers Zubiri proclamation. And just when the public was already set to cheer or jeer (see Winners make losers. Losers make excuses and starfish hands and Tinkie Fantasy for contrasting views) now Comelec in a bind over proclamation (I don’t buy Sarmiento’s logic). Anyway, for now, Koko Pimentel gears up for final stand.
Also,even as JDV: Secret ballot you want, secret ballot you get, there’s a twist: JdV supporters oppose secret vote proposal in choosing speaker while Garcia: JdV lost moral ascendancy for Speakership (on related matters, De Venecia son hit on broadband deal and GMA presses JdV to make Mikey energy committee chairman); in his column, Efren Danao says he think de Venecia still has the edge, but also goes into an educational description of an oft-used political word, “caucus”:
A caucus is held mainly to prevent a bloody or protracted confrontation on the floor. It is not true that only members of the same political party can hold a caucus. Members of different political parties belong to a coalition, whether administration or opposition, can hold a caucus. It can also involve both the majority and the minority, as in an all-Senate caucus which is held quite often.
Any one who says a caucus to settle the speakership issue is redundant because the official balloting will still take place on July 23 ignores the real nature of a caucus. It is a parliamentary tradition that any decision arrived at in a caucus will be binding on every one present. If Pabling wins at the caucus, JdV’s supporters will go for him on July 23. JdV is being true to parliamentary tradition when he said he would personally nominate Pabling on July 23 should Pabling win in the caucus. Those who do not want to be bound by any decision contrary to their own sentiments usually avoid caucuses like a plague.
Here is an addendum to the issue of secret balloting for the speakership as proposed by the Garcia camp. In my column last Monday, Rep. Raul del Mar of Cebu City said that secret balloting is contrary to House rules that prescribe roll call voting. Rep. Arthur Defensor explained why the rules called for roll call vote. Art, whom I also covered at the regular Batasan, stressed that a roll call vote is needed to determine who should belong to the majority and to the minority. Those who voted for the winner will constitute the majority and those for the loser, the minority. Definitely, the members of the majority and the minority could not be ascertained in a secret balloting.
Overseas: China executes former food safety chief over fake medicines. And Dr. Enzo von Pfeil gets interviewed on whether and how another Asian financial crisis could take place. Elizabeth Wilner suggests that in American politics, there aren’t any second chances anymore.
My column today is You get what you wish for; my Arab News column for this week is Nuclear Option Is Back on the Table in Philippines.
A brilliant passage from Manuel Buencamino’s blow-by-blow account of how the administration targeted Gringo Honasan and then, when Honasan became cooperative, suddenly pulled a rabbit out of its legal hat:
Susmaryosep! If a finding can be pulled out of a hat to let Honasan off the hook, why couldn’t the same be done for Trillanes?
Was it because rather than doing a Gringo, Senator Trillanes swore he would investigate extrajudicial killings, reopen the Garci case and continue to work for Mrs. Arroyo’s impeachment?
No, said government mouthpieces. Under the principle of equality before the law, Senator Trillanes deserved the same treatment as a pedophile who was twice elected to Congress while in detention and who, recently, received a commutation of sentence from a close family friend, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
There’s no need to detail the absurd Trillanes/Jalosjos parallel. Suffice it to say that mounting an 11-year-old girl to satisfy one’s perverted craving is not the same as mounting a mutiny against corrupt military leaders.
There is a difference between patriotism and pedophilia; between a man who stands for his beliefs no matter what and a trapo who stands principles on their head whenever it’s expedient. There is a difference between “de jure” and “de facto” ; between the rule of law and the rule of outlaws. But this regime wants you to believe “there ain’t no difference.”
Time and time again, this regime has used the law to mock the rule of law. And it has never hesitated to substitute a putative sovereign’s will for the sovereign will of the people. But this regime wants you to believe “it ain’t so.”
The same Justice Gonzalez who pulled that rabbit out of his hat, is the very same Gonzalez in this news story: Justice chief relieves Velasco from Burgos case. More in Burgos prosecutor sacked after tagging Isafp agents.
As Erap trial judges reach consensus, there’s the view of Billy Esposo that the ads, etc. are actually an Estrada supporters’ plot. He says something I believe to be true:
How many out there will be willing to risk life, limb and fortune to fight and die for Joseph “Erap” Estrada? It is one thing to sympathize with Estrada the jailbird or vote for the candidates he endorses. But to suggest that millions, or nay, even just thousands of people are willing to confront the State’s armed and police forces over a guilty verdict for Estrada is stretching the limits of the imagination too far.
Then he goes on to suggest that
Before the ad came out, no one had really challenged the fairness of the Sandiganbayan in handling the Estrada plunder case. Up to that day, the public had generally given the Sandiganbayan the benefit of the doubt that Estrada will get a fair trial and verdict.
But after the ad came out, the Estrada camp went to town to claim that a guilty verdict has been rigged. This tends to erode the public’s trust in the capability of the Sandiganbayan to render an impartial verdict. It leads the public to conclude that the Arroyo regime had already gone out of its way to force the court to render a guilty verdict.
In a way, the brand of justice that Secretary Raul Gonzalez had accustomed us to expect has conditioned the public to become cynical of court verdicts in the Arroyo era. Madame Gloria Macapagal Arroyo had cast the seeds of that kind of justice that Gonzalez sows, so she only deserves to reap that sort of public cynicism.
But think again – did you really believe that the Arroyo regime would be so stupid to place that kind of an ad? Common sense will tell you that ad creates an information environment that bolsters only the kind of thinking that the Estrada camp would want to promote.
A point to consider, though I’ve never been keen on the “they’d never be so dumb to do that!” argument. You really never know. For every act of brilliance, or at least breathtaking boldness, a political player’s capable off, there’s always the chance that a blunder can take place. Tony Abaya thinks the middle class has been permanently antagonized by the Estrada camp (I agree):
Given Erap’s past history of colluding with the comrades – not out of ideological commitment, but out of his personal desire to be freed from detention and cleared of the plunder charge – whatever violence is generated by a guilty verdict will not elicit support from the middle class, which avoided earlier efforts to entice them in 2003, 2005 and 2006, no matter how unpopular President Arroyo has become.
A not guilty verdict would embolden Erap and his entourage to try again, for the fourth time, to topple the Arroyo government, but such an enterprise is not likely to generate sympathy and support from the middle class, especially since the economy is doing fairly well and very few, if any, would want to do anything to muddy the economic waters, at least not for such undeserving persons as Erap and his communist allies.
Today’s Inquirer editorial says the trial’s been political from the start, but that the court’s handled things fairly well; see also the views of Marichu Lambino. Personally, I think people have made up their mind either way, but that one court people will end up respecting will be the Supreme Court -and the Sandiganbayan verdict will most likely be appealed, anyway.
An interesting column by Connie Veneracion on how she teaches.
In the blogosphere, even as columnists like Nestor Mata weigh in (pro Villar) bloggers ponder the Senate merry-go-round: big mango wonders which matters more, romance or practicality.
Placeholder on how giving up anonymity doesn’t necessarily mean one has to give up privacy.
Thanks to J. Dennis Torres and fmontserrat for the endorsements.
Technorati Tags: Blogging, elections, human rights, ideas, media, military, politics, president, Senate, society, war, Washington DC
The siege at the Red Mosque in Pakistan and the so called terrorist problem in the ARRM. The Jihadi in Pakistan walked his talk. They slowly escalated their attempt at imposing radical Islamicism and were smashed as they left the Government of Pakistan with no other choice. He wanted to become a “shaheed” and the government gladly allowed him to become one.
Does that kind of radical militant Islam exist in the Philippine scene? Pakistan has always been an authoritarian state. There are no institutions to allow citizens to address valid issues vs the government. This allows crazies to enter the leadership vacuum to address perceived slights by authoritarian governments.
In the Philippine scene the Philippine state has been represented by the military in the Muslim areas for generations. Sadly, the brutality of battles is not a new development. The military establishment knows fully well that their men are in a battle zone. It has been that way for a long time.
Men who have been honed in the ways of warfare and violence who seem to know nothing else for generations will also take generations for them to evolve into productive human beings. I doubt if the bulk of these men could tell what the hell they are fighting for.
The problems in areas where no state exists is clearly similar to the situation in Iraq where no one knows what they are killing each other for any longer.
Once again the choice of total war and annihilation comes to the fore. The choice for Jihadism is a simple solution to a complex problem.
Could the Human Security Act resolve the problem which clearly seems to be a case of the lack of government in these areas which is eerily similar to what happened in Lebanon some years ago.
Establishing state power over lawless areas is not an easy task for a weak state. Outsourcing the responsibility to the Americans and Australians will not work. Much less for a government who seems at a loss on how to govern effectively.
A primary example is Nur Misuari who is simply existing simply on the public dime and is allowed special privileges in spite of his being totally irrelevant.
To frame this as part of a vast conspiracy of Islamic Facism is totally outrageous.
Those marines became “shaheeds” for what cause? What a waste of good men.
I distinctly remember that incident where members of the Philippine Scouts did not have enough ammunition when they encountered members of the ASG.
You see all these fancy officers with all their fancy decorations lining up to greet the President when she travels or is welcomed to a place. This is no longer a farce as it has long become a continuing tragedy.
why are you surprised that filipino bloggers aren’t reacting to the beheading of soldiers? the answer ought to be pretty obvious: when the people you demonize relentlessly are on the receiving end of tragedy, you don’t call attention to it because they might get sympathy. did you write much about it? because pointing to articles about the gruesomeness doesn’t count either, i suppose.
and no, this isn’t a reflection of how the public perceives the soldiery, but more a picture of the biases of bloggers.
Rom is right. When the Liberal Establishment treats the military as enemies of freedom, blaming them for everything from extrajudicial killings to electoral fraud, what’ve the bloggers got to regurgitate but the same blasted drivel?
Manolo, you are creating a false distinction with your question: did the Marines fall to the ASG or to a criminal gang?
The only question really is, was the criminal gang that did this also a terrorist gang? The circumstances of the ambush do not speak of a criminal gang. What are you suggesting? That a criminal gang wanted to kidnap fifty members of the First Infantry Battalion and hold them for ransom? And that they engaged the fully armed troops in a nine hour all out gun battle in order to do so ?? C’mon!
The MILF admits they did the fighting and killing, and then some “unknown groups” did the beheading and mutilation. Speculation points to Isnilon Hapilon, who just lost a son and got himself shot in the mouth…If you read carefully the PDI account, it really sounds as if the soldiers were taken prisoner and THEN beheaded and mutilated. It was combined force of Abus and MILF. There really is no distinction among them except when they find it convenient to make the distinction. We are fools enough in the Media to broadcast their deceptions.
Those are WAR CRIMES, but I doubt very much that our new found friends in the European Union who are so CONCERNED about human rights in these parts would give a damn! And of course we care more about Abu Ghraib than Basilan!
Can you just imagine what it must be like to SAW OFF a man’s head? How about TEN MEN?
Folks, this is beginning to approach the macabre, though worse is the indifference to these young men who’ve given their lives looking for Father Bossi so we don’t have to!
My God, and to look back on all the passion and fervor and patriotism that is often expressed in all these blogs and comment threads.
I was just reading some stuff over at Ellen Tordesillas. The idiotarians over there are just too much to take…making excuses for these murdering decapitators and ghouls…wring their wrists at the root causes…yucch!
I think it is unfair to say that just because Filipino bloggers haven’t blogged about the despicable incident, they are not interested. This line of thinking is patently unfair. It doesn’t necessarily follow.
Come on Manuel, I gave a statement, albeit concise… I think, local bloggers will be writing more about this in the coming days..
I said the following,
in the following comments,
I’m having computer problems, I’ll be writing a more in depth commentary soon..
I agree with Arbet..
DJB sees this as an opportunity to wrap himself up with the Filipino flag. If there’s anything we learned in the past five years, in these matters, we have to follow the relatively level-headed approach shown by the Brits. American-style jingoism and war-mongering will only lead us further deeper into the quagmire.
Rom and DJB,
I didn’t read it the way you did. I suppose mlq3 was saying that the marines had a tactical mistake by trusting the enemy. It would seem they were merely on a march order because of the supposed ceasefire with the MILF. You don’t trust your enemy even if there is a ceasefire.
A friend who is in the military put it this way: Abu Sayyaf Group represents the enemy forces. The MILF, on the other hand, are the “Friendly” enemy forces because of the ceasefire.
Stated differently, in combat operations you do not trust those who are not your allies.
DJB, I think you’re bias against the so-called Liberal Establishment tends to put words on the mouth of those you argue against. Come to think of it, with GMA in power and the AFP solidly behind her back, there is no Liberal Establishment as of yet in this country.
At this point, i think it is also prudent to warn against any bum advice coming from our foreign ‘allies’. For example, we have to remember that it is the MILF that hit us so the military has to retaliate accordingly against them. Using this incident to go off and round up suspected ‘communists’ is about as strategically sound as the USA’s going after Saddam instead of Bin Laden.
cvj:the brits are seriously thinking of passing an anti-terror law too, aren’t they?
And to call people names is not only patently unfair, but also a sign of desperation.
Why hit on the liberals? Who shapes and controls policy? The Fortress by the Pasig. Why not hit it instead? If you think snuffing the life out of the MILF is the answer, hit the policy, hit the shaper of policy. The liberals may cry their hearts out, but they don’t craft policy. Hitting the liberals for something they cry about but have no control is barking at the wrong tree.
cvj:who said anything about rounding up communists? oh. we’re just warning the government, aren’t we?
arbet:i didn’t know describing some group as “liberal” was considered name-calling. as opposed to the “Fortress by the Pasig” being a mere euphemism, i suppose.
Rom,
The Brits have already passed 4 laws dealing with terrorism since 2000.
Rom, i need to see the details of the proposed law before i can comment on it. Anyway, what i like about the Brits’ methodology is that they use good police action to handle their problems with terrorists. The ideologues who shout ‘dhimmi’ and seek to divide the Muslim population from the rest of their citizenry don’t seem to be in charge, at least not yet. I also don’t think they ship suspects to other countries to be tortured or keep a concentration camp like Guantanamo. (Of course, it’s unfortunate that Blair became W’s poodle, that part i don’t agree with.)
Rom, people and places are different. And I am not talking about you labeling people as liberal. If you cannot spot ad hominem errors, then it is no longer my problem.
cvj,
It’s embarrassing isn’t it? To criticize a law like HSA for months and months and then have something happen just as it is about to come into effect that so stunningly speaks for its necessity. MILF are cruisin’ for a bruisin’ and need to be put in with their paisanos: the ASG.
And what may I ask, is so wrong about wrapping oneself in the Flag?
Jaxius,
Consider the fact that the gunbattle lasted for nine hours! This was not some kind of chance encounter that resulted in a few random shots being fired. Then after they captured ten of those soldiers, they beheaded them!
It’s like saying Julia Campbell made a “tactical mistake” hiking alone in the Cordilleras. Come to think of it that’s what Manila Bay Watch was saying yesterday: that it’s the soldier’s fault for only bringing sixty men!
but this is precisely what I mean by the Liberal Establishment. You folks will bend over backwards to try and understand a bunch of cutthroats so you can blame it on us.
Like CVJ, she thinks it’s wrong to care about victims if they happen to be soldiers.
arbet:its ok. i didn’t call anyone a liberal (oh no, Kurt! i know a dirty word too!).
DJB,
The battle lasted for nine hours and that is what puzzles me. Were those 70 marines the only AFP forces in Basilan? I imagine those hapless marines were rendered isolated from the main force that it took them 9 hours to get to “allied territory”.
Where were the reinforcements? I wonder whether they wandered so very far from any allied troops by their own initiative or by command of higher headquarters? That is the tactical blunder I was referring to.
As they say, when you have a hammer, everything looks like a nail. You are seeing a connection that’s not there.
Try to get a hold of yourself. You’re putting words into other people’s mouth which i don’t think a person of your caliber needs to resort to.
Arbet,
Why hit on liberals?
Well, for one think, it is Liberals who keep saying that we don’t need an anti-terrorism law. they keep saying that such a law will be used to suppress human rights.
Yet why are Liberals silent, –abashedly silent!– when things like this happen? Is it because they would have to show a measure of support for the Armed Forces and by implication for GMA?
That is reprehensible, if true.
But it is true, judging by comments in threads less unashamed of their politically correct dhimmitude than this one. Liberals are finding all sorts of ways to blame the Armed Forces or the Govt.
A particularly twisted line, coming even from the govt itself, is that peace talks with the MILF must be saved at all costs.
I heard Ermita mouthing such drivel even as the corpses of those ten soldiers were probably still giving up their tenants’ last full measure of devotion.
It’s not we that ought to be wrapped up in the Flag, CVJ, but them!
Since you asked…
…i hope that answers your question.
…Perspective…
Could anything be
more sad and absurd
than ten people
being beheaded
while looking
for a missing Italian priest
in the driving rain?
…well may be yessss…
the Liberal silence
Someone needs to clean his ears…or at least read Nick’s comment above (at July 12th, 2007, 2:27 pm).
I think whatever the liberals say don’t matter to the fact at hand (unless they are in power). Hitting them will be a useless exercise.
Again, whoever shapes the policy is the problem.
Dean, question: if HSA is in effect a month ago, how can it prevent the despicable incident yesterday?
Ten mothers.
Ten fathers.
Ten sons.
Twenty stems and roses.
Arbet,
An important aspect of HSA is increasing the intelligence capabilities of law enforcement and the military. The huge attacking force was well coordinated, but the police and military should know when and where large concentrations of MILF/ASG troops are. HSA could have prevented what happened! Imagine if the cellphone networks are being monitored, that channel would not be available to insurgent troops and rebels, severely hampering their large scale operations. Let them use smoke signals, but not smart or globe.
DJB, maybe you would want to revise your poem a little to account for the other 4 soldiers who were killed (but not beheaded). We should equally care for them all.
I love it, DJB says liberal silence…
manuel says Filipino blogger silence…
I say, deafness for those who care not to listen — and selective blindness for those trying to advance an agenda…
Also, Liberal becomes name calling, when it insinuates that a person loses free will and has to be bound by ideology…
i’m liberal on some issues, conservative on others…
reminds me of Bush calling Kerry a liberal from Massachusetts…
stick to the issue please.
I don’t think there is a Filipino out here that doesn’t feel the shock and even pain at this atrocity..
Sort of like the propaganda coming from Bush Admin, saying “those who don’t support the war, also doesn’t support the troops”
logical or propaganda??
CVJ,
I’ve got news for you.
We ARE the Jews.
If you say so, Herman.
Dean,
You are like those MILF fighters that you so despise – not to be trusted when it comes to interpreting what they read (in their case, their ‘interpretation’ of the terms of ceasefire with Gloria), you can’t see beyond the tip of your nose – that you should say, insist, put words in my mouth and others here that I blame the foot soldiers for getting killed is really pathetic. I blame their frigging commander – the ONE WHO IS ALIVE for getting his men killed, you plonker!
Point ONE & ONE LINE TO ME WHEREIN I BLAMED THEM. Don’t be a goddman pillock, Dean! Your head is getting overruled by your testosterones!
Cutting and pasting from the MILF hooch(luwaran dot com): Majid also disclosed that 23 Marines were killed on the spot including 10 who were “beheaded†by unknown groups after the fighting.
…Majid also said the MILF forces captured 27 firearms described as follows: six (6) M-60 machineguns; eight (8) M-203 grenade launchers, ten (1) M-16 Armalite rifles, one (1) 60mm mortar, and several night vision goggles.
Hmmm…how convenient…”unknown groups”… but it is clear from the MILF statement that those beheaded were maybe alive after the fighting, before they were decapitated, in which case it would be a clear case of a WAR CRIME breach of the Geneva Conventions. Even if those “unknown groups” had done the decaps after the fighting and the men were dead, then they would be guilty of desecrating corpses, also considered a WAR CRIME under the Geneva Conventions (and common human decency.) In either case, the perpetrators are revealed to be…coprophiliacs!
The MILF and ASG do not represent the Bangsa Moro People! How can they? They are monsters, not men, warlords and warlocks, not wise spiritual leaders, which the Liberal Media is trying so hard to make the new Abu honcho out to be. Pweh! I say, Pweh!
It is naive to think that the battle against islamic terrorism will be fought only in the jungles of Basilan. Manila is not so far and I bet a lot of so-called liberals would quickly change stripes after their favorite Starbucks is car-bombed one of these days. A prototype IED was discovered by police in Cagayan de Oro city about a month ago, suspected to be the work of Indonesian terrorists operating in the country.
Arbet,
An important aspect of HSA is increasing the intelligence capabilities of law enforcement and the military. The huge attacking force was well coordinated, but the police and military should know when and where large concentrations of MILF/ASG troops are. HSA could have prevented what happened! Imagine if the cellphone networks are being monitored, that channel would not be available to insurgent troops and rebels, severely hampering their large scale operations. Let them use smoke signals, but not smart or globe.
arbet, why is it unfair? we’re closer to events, why should we be the last to comment?
Quezon here has calmly pointed out “Whichever way you look at it, it seems a case of bad leadership on the part of the marines.”
That’s exactly what I meant too and I’ve been saying that since yesterday.
Operations wise, how did those 10 marines get beheaded? Could only mean that they were operating by squads with no back-up support in extremely hostile and enemy territory, you goddamn don’t do that. You provide air cover, naval gun fire and don’t tell me that geographically navy gun trajectory wasn’t feasible! In that case, there should have been 80mm guns surrounding the battle perimeter within a 9km radius!
djb, i don’t see how the events justifies the new law. what we have is one report that says, its criminals that abducted the priest. the other reports, to my mind, suggests a possibility we should consider: that the milf are muscling into the act, that the abu sayaff might have already muscled in, that it’s even possible the abu sayyaf are being used as scapegoats. still another possibility, and it’s one i find the most alarming, which is why i asked the questions i did, is that you have a new, as in totally new, bandit group, or a new, as in cobbled together from old groups, bandit group strong and resourceful enough to give our marines a whipping.
this is a command and control question. why is it, after foreign observers can speak glowingly of our anti abu sayyaf efforts, did the marines end up ambushed and our troops abducted in that manner? the accounts seem to suggest that they didn’t even have the means to put up a good fight. which seems to indicate to me that something is rotten in terms of our officer corps, and that something needs looking at in terms of our soldiers’ ability to fight.
and again how on earth an anti-terrorism law matters at this point is beyond me. starting with the priest -it’s a kidnapping. it’s a search-and-rescue operation. and where are the demands or how are the crimes being currently committed in the nature of terrorism and not plain banditry and kidnapping?
rom, i think i’ve been careful to support the armed forces where they should be supported. and yes, to point to articles is precisely to point to an issue.
Not every one can grasp the gravity of every situation, Sir Manolo. That’s my point.
And add the fact that not every blogger has the means to post about it FAST.
MLQ3,
An important feature of the new law is the attempt to modernize and upgrade our Intelligence Gathering capabilities. The disposition of enemy forces is an elementary aspect of military management, and could’ve prevented this situation. The scale of the investment and the type of capability we should acquire ought to be guided both by the war on terror and the need to be able to make the fine distinctions you seem to want. Legislation is more than enforcement, it is also institutional development, both of technology and human resources.
How can you ask what the relevance of an anti terror law is in this case, when the Abu Sayyaf is involved. You can’t hide behind the idea of “criminal elements”. I mean c’mon Manolo, what criminal gang of ordinary kind takes on the First Infantry Battalion???
Peter Brooke’s question “The Good News?” remains a question, and will remain a question, no more no less particularly in light of this military operation fiasco.
Someone said it already. They were stuck there 9 hours and where were the reinforcements?
And those dud mortar shells they were using? Kudos to GMA7 for being there to show us that.
“The huge attacking force was well coordinated, but the police and military should know when and where large concentrations of MILF/ASG troops are. HSA could have prevented what happened! ”
I simply am gobsmacked! The AFP doesn’t need the HSA to modernize their intelligence gathering methods and equipment. They have THE BEST OF THE GODDAMN BEST methodology and equipment at their disposal – US sattelites, US information, etc, etc, etc, that is in addition to the equipment that both AFP-PNP intelligence units have at their disposal today that they’ve purchased and have upgraged several times over since 2000!
I will agree with you that there is gross negligence in the military management of the operations. That’s where the problem is.
Your HSA will not provide them with better intelligence gathering ammo than those the AFP-PNP already have and use.
The very aspects of the new law that civil libertarians and human-rights activists seem most worried about are also the ones that could potentially make the war on terror “working smart” instead of “working hard”.
On top of the expected improvement in intelligence gathering capabilities, there is also the matter of disrupting their material and financial support systems. It takes a lot to feed, clothe, shelter and arm 300 gun men capable of takin on the First IB. Those systems need to be degraded and taken out.
Finally, the anti terror law can put a stop to the never ending Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde charade about who is who, lost commands and bandits, etc. by putting the finger on the spades and calling them what they are.
The HSA is front and center on this one MLQ3. Front and center!
Dean, can’t tapping phones be done even without HSA? If intelligence is the problem, why don’t we address that instead of enacting a law that can be problematic at the wrong hands?
Cut the crap and tha faux flag-waving, DJB.
Those who beheaded the marines are rightly called savages.
But what does one call someone who picks-up those decapitated heads and uses them as props to sell the Anti Terror Law?
Look at what you told cvj:
“It’s embarrassing isn’t it? To criticize a law like HSA for months and months and then have something happen just as it is about to come into effect that so stunningly speaks for its necessity. MILF are cruisin’ for a bruisin’ and need to be put in with their paisanos: the ASG.”
You composed a sappy poem about 10 beheaded marines and you ignored the others who also died. Why? Because the propaganda shock value is not there?
Stop molesting the dead, DJB! It’s beneath you to engage in such behavior!
Dean,
Your HSA will not help this government dismantle the material and financial support systems for the MILF for as long as this government allows THE MALAYSIANS to head and control the panel and for as long as this government permits Malaysian “advisers” to advise your MILF!
The financial support systems don’t have to go through banks – they can be brought in bauls by a nondescript vessel plying the Sabah and Tawi-Tawi routes (where there is virtually no control).
arbet, but i didn’t post about it fast, either.
rom: i ended up posting a response but since i’m not registered, it came out as “anonymous”
MB,
The four dead Marines died honorably in battle. The Ten were captured, then beheaded by coprophiliacs. I don’t honor the four any less, but feel greater melancholy for the ten.
MLQ3,
Be consoled! The whole idea behind the law is also DEMILITARIZATION of the problem. Now it is a matter for police, the Chr, the courts! I like that because no one can hide from their Duty to defend the Republic.
Sir Manolo, again: the means, which includes time, infrastructure, monetary considerations. Not every one is a problogger/full-time blogger. Some have desk jobs to attend to.