By Nora Soriño
ILIGAN City ― Here’s an interesting quote following the messy and chaotic withdrawal of American troops in Afghanistan last month: “Those who learn from the experiences of others are smart. Those who learn from their own experience are dumb.
But those who do not learn from the experience of others or their own are Americans!”
This is no laughing matter for the Americans. To be viewed as “dumber than dumb.”
This has something to do with us too. Especially that Defense Sec Delfin Lorenzana has said that “some Afghans may have slipped into our country as refugees.” And do some “suicide bombing.” Oh, God forbid!
So he added, there must be careful processing of these refugees from Afghanistan. Question: Are there Afghans among us then?
Oh, another oh. For, these people know how to blend with us, for sure. And get away with their goals. In the same way that Americans went to great lengths just to see what some people are up to.
The book, “The Afghan” by Frederick Forsyth is something to ponder. For the US and British intelligence in early 2000 in the aftermath of that bombing of the twin towers in the US concluded that the people were still up to something. But how can they know for sure?
So they sent one brilliant Col Mike Martin to Afghanistan to pass as “Izmat Khan” a dedicated former Taliban senior commander.
They even “copied” Khan’s big scar on the foot. It helped that Martin looked like an Afghan himself being born in Syria but grew up in America.
Forsyth’s book was well researched. There was even the Abu Sayyaf of this country. It was a good reveal as they were said to have used the vicinity of some mangroves in the Zamboanga peninsula as their homes!
One thing came out. That these Afghans don't use, at times, today’s high tech. They use person to person to get some message across from one person to another. So they won’t get detected.
To make a long story short, “Izmat Khan” became a “sacrificial lamb” so to speak. For he was able to avert a plan which would have killed world leaders in some meeting on board a huge ship in an American city.
Meaning, this particular “Afghan” in “Izmat Khan” was killed along with the other Afghans. In so doing the world leaders were spared!
In relation to that in the aftermath of 2017 so called “Marawi Seige” city mayor, Celso G. Regencia was perceived as somewhat like that “Izmat Khan.” It helped that this city is near Marawi city.
And so CGR and his ticket handily won. Partly because of that “peace and order” concept.
Grabbing the credit from the uniformed men.
And many of the terrified public here lapped that concept up, though.
But with this pandemic and this LGU’s well, performance, or the lack of it, will that concept still hold?
What do some lyrics of a song by Coritha say? “Ang takot ay nasa isip lamang.”
(Email: norasorino2@gmail.com)
