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Friday, March 28, 2003
Kintanar: Chemical weapons attack
By June Kintanar
The possibility of chemical weapons attacks by terrorists in the country and in the country’s embassies and consulates abroad is no joke. If this happens, God forbid, it will surely be a nightmare for us.
As they say, nothing is impossible, particularly in the face of the sure defeat of President Saddam Hussein in the week-old war in Iraq. Reports are rife that Saddam is preparing to unleash his weapons of mass destruction once allied forces set foot on Baghdad, Iraq’s capital.
In fact, if reports are to be believed, US-led coalition forces are but a few kilometers away from the red line drawn by Saddam around Baghdad. Allah, though, may have been kind to the Iraqis, as a strong sand storm, a natural phenomenon, delayed the arrival of coalition forces in Baghdad.
There’s no doubt that there will be strong pressure on Saddam and Iraq once the American and British forces cross the red line in Baghdad. Military experts, in fact, consider this the climax of the war.
And what does a leader do under this pressing circumstance? It has been said that a desperate situation calls for a desperate move. And what can this desperate move be but Saddam using chemical or biological weapons against his enemies?
And precisely this is the situation that our own president is worried about. She is apprehensive that international terrorists all over the world will stage so-called sympathy attacks against countries categorical in their support for US President George W. Bush and his war against Iraq.
Lately the President opted to leave no stone unturned in her desire to secure each and every nook of the country from these feared terrorist attacks.
Where in the world can one find a president personally checking airports and other installations to re-assure the people that while we hope for the best, we too are prepared for the worst? Of course, we do not mean to be alarmists. Apan maayo na lang nang andam ta, don’t you think so?
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One thing good with Filipinos is their flexibility and resiliency in times of crisis. In the home front, despite the sounds of bombs and bullets in Iraq, our politicians still find time to discuss politics.
From the opposition, we learned that the presidential race has now become a tossup between former ambassador and presently San Miguel chairman Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco and former PNP chief and senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson.
Cojuangco enjoys a comfortable edge over Lacson. Pro-Cojuangco politicians assert that since the country’s problems are mainly economic, we need an economist like Cojuangco. On the other hand, before we talk about economics, we have to tackle first our problems on peace and order. So, they say Lacson is it.
But Lacson’s public image, some neutral observers said, suffered mainly because of the previous senate investigation on his alleged links with the illegal drugs trade, robberies and rubout. Lacson, though, has plenty of money to negate this.
But what about Cojuangco? He also has plenty of resources to carry out a decent campaign.
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As for Cebu politics, nothing much has developed except for that statement of Sen. Sonny Osmeña that he will not support his son John-john if the latter insists on running for governor. Much less if John-john will take Gwendolyn Garcia, the governor’s daughter, as his running mate.
Sonny insists that John-john should run for congressman instead. When asked in what district, Sonny said he prefers the sixth district of the province. When asked further what he will do with Rep. Nerissa Soon Ruiz, the Cebu senator said he will ask her to run for Mandaue city mayor. Abangan!
(March 28, 2003 issue)
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