The Troubles Of The South: Is War Really The Answer?

March 6, 2015

by Grimwald

 

Well, ladies and gentlemen, let me tell you that it has been more than two decades since the Aquinos took to power after the so-called “People Power” revolution. Our troubles, as far as history is considered, started long before Cory Aquino’s ascent to presidency and there are those who point to Marcos being responsible for the deteriorating condition of the country. This is just a wild guess but I’m willing to bet that both of them have a lot to answer for in bringing our country to its present state of misery. However, I am not here to discuss history. We’ve debated and argued over it in other blogs and we end up more confused than enlightened on who should be held accountable for the troubles we’ve been experiencing for the past few years.

Combat, specially in a tropical jungle, is never the pleasant option.

I’m here to talk about the South, the little island of Mindanao, and what you think we should do now. In all honesty, what may happen next is not pretty at all. Indeed, I’m willing to think that war is indeed inevitable considering what has happened so far.

But I’m not going to jump to conclusions. What we need to do now is face facts. What we need to do now is to think about what has transpired over the years in Mindanao very carefully.

All this crap about Moronic Liberation Fronts began during the Marcos regime. When Ferdinand Marcos was ousted from Malacanang, Cory Aquino made a treaty with them, giving them lands to develop for their families. Their leader was even chosen to represent them here in Luzon, an act that I would consider very generous.

But of course, corruption had its way with the system again and the results were less than spectacular. A new branch of Morons came forth, clamoring about being “mistreated” and engaging in terrorist activity against both civilian and military personnel. As of late, these same Morons have killed 44 elite police officers of the SAF or Special Action Force and, as a certain viral video presents, these men were killed in cold blood.

I think that majority of you have some idea of what happened. The video no doubt shows you what kind of people we are dealing with here. No, these are not soldiers. These are terrorists. A soldier at least understands the rules of war, as presented by the Geneva Conventions. Wounded enemy combatants are still allowed some degree of rights. Should they surrender, they can be taken into custody and be released later under special conditions.

What I find really egregious is I saw members of the SAF begging for their lives when these Morons butchered them in front of the camera. When they were asked to return the weapons of the fallen policemen (which to me is nothing more than an exercise in futility), they were returned incomplete. The fact that our government even thanked them for returning these weapons that were now damaged and stripped of accessories is something that will probably baffle me for the rest of my life.

Now, as of late, our president has expressed his interest in signing a peace treaty with these terrorists. He seems to completely ignore the video footage presented to him in favor of allegedly reducing the bloodshed that has taken place down south. Then we learn that he’s probably doing it for a chance to earn a “Nobel Peace Prize” so he can bring more honor to his family which is probably one of the biggest criminal organizations in the country. Does this seem like the kind of decision a sane and moral man would make? But of course, that’s not the point here either.

Yes, peace is good and war is bad. In fact, war is horrible. You’ve seen the movies, I assume? Saving Private Ryan, Platoon, Hamburger Hill, The Pacific, Flags of Our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima just to name a few. And no, none of them paint a pretty picture of war. Going to war will leave a mark on your body, mind and soul and that is even if you manage to get home alive or if you get home at all. More likely than not, your body or the bits and pieces of it left will probably end up in some ditch somewhere and nobody will find it and your loved ones will grieve for their child, sibling or friend who never came back.

But then, let’s discuss what we’re up against. We’re facing criminals here. No, these aren’t members of a military, their barbaric acts should prove that. They are members of a terrorist organization who seek to get what they want through violence alone. They’re not about negotiations. You saw what they do to men begging for their lives, didn’t you? They kill them anyway and desecrate the corpses. They are shot in the face or their bodies are mutilated just to rub more salt in the wounds in the hearts of their loved ones. And for what purpose? To demoralize our people? To traumatize the spouses, children, parents, siblings and friends of the murdered? To challenge people to war? To cow us into submission?

Our government says it wants to make peace by giving into the demands of these madmen. Now let me ask you, are you willing to put your hand out to a rabid dog? Are you willing to put your trust in a savage beast that could tear you limb from limb?

So now people are saying: “If you’re calling for war, do you have the guts to join the frontline?” Well, my answer is yes, I am. If it comes down to it, I’m willing to take up arms to defend my home, my family, my friends and their families.

Outside my window here in Luzon, I am often greeted by the laughter of children playing about on the street. Once school’s out you’ll hear them out there, pretending to be their favorite anime character. It brings a smile to my face when I hear them shout “Rasengan” and imitate Naruto’s moves. If the war gets bad enough, I probably won’t be hearing them anymore, I realize.

It already hurts me deeply that our society is making our children dumber with every generation. The idea that they will be hurt by the ravages of war is something I’m not willing to accept. If we want a permanent end to the troubles of the south, we the people have to consider war as a viable option.

Because I strongly doubt that a gang of murderers in uniform hiding behind the banner of Islam aren’t willing to think about “civilian casualties”…

What say you?