About that global threat vs Americans

Over the weekend, Cable News Network (CNN), BBC and Fox News were reporting about a US Global Threat, which is why the US Government issued an all points bulletin including a worldwide Travel Warning to all American citizens in the US mainland or living aboard for them to take extra precautionary measures as this threat is a serious one as they believe that Al Qaeda may launch attacks in the Middle East or North Africa.

This threat is so serious that last Sunday, the United States government shut down 22 US embassies and consulates… the first time ever that the US government has done this. Not even when America was under attack during the bombing of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 did they close US embassies and consulates abroad.

So why is there another threat against the US by Al Qaeda? I recall that on May 2, 2011 President Barack Obama came out on worldwide satellite TV to announce that Osama Bin Laden was killed in a surprise raid on his house in Abbottabad, Pakistan. It was the result of an eight-month sleuthing that led CIA Director Leon Panetta to call on the US Navy’s “Seal-6” to conduct the lightning raid right under the eyes of the Pakistanis (there was a military barracks so close to the Bid Laden home) to finally put an end to the world’s number one terrorist.

We all saw that live TV feed as the raid was being conducted with Pres. Obama, Leon Panetta and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton intently watching the recorded events as they were unfolding. Then minutes later, an elated Pres. Obama made an announcement on live worldwide TV, “The death of Osama Bin Laden marks the most significant achievement to date in our nation’s effort to defeat Al Qaeda. His demise should be welcomed by all who believe in peace and human dignity.”  With that Presidential speech, we really thought that the Al Qaeda global threat was over. Apparently Pres. Obama spoke too soon.

Then on Sept.11, 2012 or 14 months after the US killed Osama Bin Laden, the US Diplomatic Mission in Benghazi was attacked by a heavily armed group where four people were killed including US Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens while ten other American personnel were injured. This happened even if Amb. Stevens warned about the danger to his life… after all it was the 11th anniversary of the World Trade Center bombing.

But the State Department apparently ignored the warnings of Amb. Stevens and the mission in Benghazi was not even placed on a high alert status. Worse… the US State Department issued a rather flimsy cover up using a stupid video off loaded in YouTube and apparently no one bought that story. In the end, with this new revelation of a US Global Threat, suddenly the US government isn’t taking any chances and has literally gone overboard in shutting down 22 embassies and consulates. But is this US Global Threat for real or is the Obama Administration simply getting too paranoid?

We know that there are a good number of American citizens living here in the Philippines, which is why we once had the biggest American embassy in the whole world. To the comfort of our people, no less than Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesman Brig. Gen. Domingo Tutaan Jr. said, “Locally, we have not monitored threats, but definitely we will be on our toes to prevent any acts of terror, and to make sure that our citizenry are safe.” 

Perhaps Gen. Tutaan should carefully read the US government’s statements… that it is Americans that are under this global threat. So the question is… are we having such threats against Americans in this country? That’s something that the AFP Intelligence community should look into. As for us Filipinos, while we are not included in this Global threat against the Americans… however we do have our own internal threats that the military or the police despite their intelligence budgets could not predict.

A case in point is that bomb explosion that killed 8 people, including 3 doctors in Cagayan de Oro’s Limketkai Mall? If indeed the AFP or the Police were on their toes… their intelligence people should have known of this bombing. As of press time, we still don’t know who were the perpetrators of that dastardly deed. Last February, 150 armed New People’s Army (NPA) regulars surrounded and attacked the Del Monte plantation in Bukidnon. Why has this been happening in Mindanao can only be attributed to a massive failure of the intelligence group.

At this point, even if the AFP Spokesman would say that they are “on their toes”, unfortunately, we can no longer believe and trust in their intelligence network. However on the bright side perhaps the closure of those 22 US Embassies and Consulates in the Mideast gives us a chance for the US Government to reopen its Consulate to full service in Cebu.

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