This story kind of slipped under the radar, but as the day of President Smirk's visit to one of his staunchest allies in the coalition of the willing comes near, it's best to pay attention:
The communist New People’s Army has deployed at least 50 of its “elite, highly trained” troops in Metro Manila to carry out an assassination assignment on US President George W. Bush, who is scheduled to visit the country on October 18, military sources said.Of course, there's nothing like an "assassination plot" to justify the usual arbitrary arrests of "leftist elements:"
Individuals supportive of the NPA cause in Metro Manila will provide refuge to the assassins during their stay before October 18, the source added without elaborating.But let's take this seriously for a minute; suppose there was indeed an assassination plot? Would the Philippine military be ready for such a thing?
[Lt. Col. Daniel Lucero] doubts the capability of the NPA to carry out such a high-profile assassination attempt. The military claims to have diminished the NPA’s strength and influence through continuous operations.The problem with the Armed Forces of the Philippines is that they aren't just hopelessly corrupt, they truly make "military intelligence" sound like an oxymoron.“With the kind of preparations we are doing, we can assure you that President Bush will be safe on his visit here,” Lucero added.
Latest attacks by the NPA, however, have killed at least 40 soldiers in Compostela Valley, Eastern Samar, Mountain Province and Albay.
“There are some lapses [by our field units] but all in all we have downgraded the NPA’s capability to launch terrorist activities nationwide,” said... Lt. Gen. Gregorio Camiling Jr.
And while some of you readers no doubt may be going "Hmm...", let me assure you that a) Cheney would be five times as horrible as Bush and b) the Philippines would no doubt be nuked beyond recognition.
and speaking of nuke...what's the update on the toxic dump they left behind in subic (and surrounding area)? i havent heard of any news update about that.
Posted by: ibalik on October 3, 2003 05:31 AMWhat toxic dump?
Considering that the Pentagon has already tried to weasel out of EPA regulations in the US itself, it seems more and more unlikely that they'll ever do anything to address concerns (or rather, the lack of them) in the Philippines. (Heard anything about, for instance, the Marshall Islands lately?)
Speaking of Smirk's visit, Tita Glo blew her timing on that one; it would have been just beautiful if the dates coincided. (But as timing goes it's still just about perfect.)
Posted by: the wily filipino on October 3, 2003 09:37 AM