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Terrorism is again on the air! This has been the prevailing statement in the minds, hearts and mouths of almost all people around the world when the twin towers ofo the World Trade Center (WTC) and the Pentagon, two symbols of power in the United States, have been attacked by terrorists. On that fateful day of September 11, 2001, the world was shocked when two planes hit the WTC causing it to crash down. On that very same, day another set of planes collided at the Pentagon in Washington DC, the naval base of the US Armed Forces. the whole of America was placed in a state of war. These terrorist acts have been blamed on one person. The individual whom many have described as one with a friendly aura and a sweet smile --- the Palestinian who carries the name of Osama bin Laden. US President George W. Bush wanted to wage war with Afghanistan, the place where bin Laden resides and rules. America, being the world's most powerful country in terms of defense, is expected to use their state-of-the-art weapons. The Talibans, the Afghan people in support of bin Laden, would not turn their backs to answer Bush's call for a bloody confrontation. Afghanistan may be small and less developed, but one must not degrade their strength in fighting. Bin Laden is one of the world's richest men. his $350 B estimated wealth would be more than enough to finance war expenses. Surely, if these countries stage war against each other, World War III would not be far from possible. America is now seeking help from the Philippines. They are using the RP-US Treaty stating that each would help the other in times of war. Now that America is at war, the Philippines would help out. But what a silly thing to do! A mosquito cannot stop or even prevent the clashing of two elephants. The insect would just be squashed, stamped upon, and killed in the process. Look at the war in Mindanao. How small is that war compared to the US-Afghanistan conflict? Yes, it is undersized, but was it solved? No, it wasn't! If we cannot resolve a skirmish, how then can we solve a war? There is strong bond between the US and the Philippines. An evidence is the annual celebration of the RP-American Friendship Day. But we also have our own battle here. Why create a new problem when there are problems to be faced beforehand? Why not solve the crisis here first and when things get settled, face another one? How can we help solve a bigger catastrophe when we cannot even work out the smaller ones? Now that we know what we can't do, do you think we can successfully help America? Or are we just going to aggravate things if we do? Economically, we are partly dependent on the U.S. If American will be under war, then, our economy will suffer another breakdown. We understand Gloria's plight, not just as a President but as an economist as well. Thus, her reasons to help the United States. We have long suffered economic upsets and we're pretty sure that another one would be intolerable. Looking at it, our helping America doesn't guarantee us of an economic boost. Rather, it would just place our people in a situation much more worse than it was before. As things are put in perspective, we just want to assist the US in lieu of the treaty. But let us first think about the Filipinos. Enough of our sufferings! Enough of our chaotic situation! If Americans want to get even with terrorists, let them have it. Anyway, their country is rich and so are the Afghans.
It is about time that we focus on the concerns of our country and our people, peace, security and alleviation of poverty. Surely, terrorism or anything in support of it
could not give any of these to us.
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