Trusting America

While the bombs and artillery shells were pounding Corregidor during World War II, Philippine Commonwealth President Manuel Quezon remonstrated against America. He said America went to help a distant cousin while his daughter is being raped at the back door. He was referring to the decision of America to divert to save England the reported “miles long” military convoy with help for the beleaguered Philippines.

Bataan fell, not because of Japanese military might, but from hunger, disease and lack of supplies. They were asked to fight without the means to insure victory, or repel the Japanese invasion. I will write further on this subject on Saturday.

This incident that could have changed the history of the Philippines flashed on my mind after reading a commentary in an American on line news service. The writer feared that, at the way President Barack Obama is responding to the crises in the Ukraine, the ISIS rampage and brutality in Northern Iraq, the Gaza fighting and outbreaks of violence in other parts of the world, “American may no longer be a trusted ally.”

Indeed, when asked what his plans are against the ISIS, Obama said he has no plans. Although he finally sent the US Air Force to take preemptive strikes against the ISIS, thousands had already been executed in mass murder, churches and ancient places of worship had been torched or reduced to rubble and hundreds of thousands had fled into the mountains without food or water.

Last week aerial photographs of Russian troops and armor showed Russia had intruded into the Ukrainian territory. The Ukrainian government had declared that Russia has invaded Ukraine and the beleaguered country asked for help to prevent a major war.

When Obama was asked what the US would do, he just said “nothing”. As of the other day, while the European leaders were frantically meeting on the twin crises of the ISIS and the Russian invasion, nothing was heard from Obama. British Prime Minister David Cameron has already raised the alert level in England to the second highest, although there was no immediate and imminent danger of ISIS followers in England launching terror attacks.

Being prepared is not just a nice Boy Scout’s slogan. It is the duty of all leaders or at least of pretenders to leadership to be constantly prepared.

The question of whether the US is still a reliable ally has caused anxiety to many Americans and democratic countries that also ask the same question.

Many columns ago, I cited a book that predicts the rise of Islamic extremists. One of the strategies of this movement is to send extremist Muslims into target countries where they would live and recruit. When the day comes, they would be summoned or instructed to sow terror in their target countries. They are known as “sleepers”.

This prediction came at the time when America was puzzled about the religious beliefs of Obama during the elections. There are now some who believe that the US has already been rendered untrustworthy with Obama at the helm and the way he is handling or responding to the simultaneous crises breaking out in the world.

The Philippines is a strong point of concern. The Chinese have been continually encroaching into our waters in the West Philippine Sea and despite the assurances of Obama, the Chinese simply ignored him. I think the Chinese read Obama like a book – he is tall on rhetoric but short on action.

Do the Chinese not read President Benigno Aquino likewise? The boldness of the Chinese in ignoring Aquino speaks volumes. As the Chinese would say, a picture tells a thousand words and the photographs of the Chinese constantly building in Philippine waters tell it all.

All the while, Obama plays golf as thousands were being massacred in Northern Iraq. Aquino is leaving for a trip to Europe ostensibly to generate more investments while the Chinese builds, and European leaders are too busy with how to deal with the ISIS within their borders.

Prime Minister Cameron estimates that more than 500 Englishmen are fighting with the ISIS and possibly more are inside European countries and the US. Former President Fidel Ramos said an estimated 100 Filipinos from Mindanao are with the ISIS and will be coming home to bring back ISIS ideology and terror. Some are already in Mindanao.

Would it be farfetched to expect they would declare loyalty and fight for an Islamic caliphate once they get the Bangsamoro autonomy?
When things get worse, can we rely on the US under Obama for help?*

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