TURNING POINT: Out of Line
The President of the Republic has no business interfering in its mandate. To stop the COA from doing its job is out of line.
Meanwhile, in the world stage, the most disturbing event of the week that, for a moment, had eclipsed the coronavirus pandemic is the return to power of the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Its government overthrown in 2001 by the US and its allies on the ground that it was a harbor of jihadist terrorists, the Taliban were reduced again into rebels in the countryside, as they were during the Russian occupation.
On August 15, 2021, after two decades of hit-and-run resistance, they wrested back control of the country from the corrupt Western-style democratic government that had been propped up by the US and the Coalition Forces. The takeover was hardly resisted. In fact, Kabul, the capital, surrendered without a shot fired.
The lamentable episode in Kabul airport was actually a preventable déjà vu for the US. President Biden and company were pretty much aware that it was only a matter of time that the Taliban takeover would happen upon the withdrawal of the US troops from Afghan soil. Unfortunately, despite their intelligence, resources and technology, they underestimated the capacity and eagerness of the Taliban for immediate takeover. Nor were they able to correctly appreciate the strength and morale (that had been punctured by corruption) of the security forces of the Afghan government to offer a resistance. The speed was beyond them; their withdrawal and evacuation plans were, thus, put into shambles.
The resulting desperation, panic and chaos in the fall of Kabul were a near-Saigon repeat performance. The situation is worsened by the fact that tens of thousands of US nationals and their endangered Afghan allies are still stranded in different locations of the city with very slim hope of reaching the sanctuary of the US-controlled Kabul airport. How to extricate them to safety is a nightmarish challenge for anyone.
The world hopes that the Taliban will make true of their pronouncement of no retribution in their return to power and that the new government will rule in peace. Despite the assurances and the mien of the gun-toting Taliban warriors in the occupied city portrayed in the media, many Afghans are still scrambling to get out of the country believing that the Taliban won’t be able to walk their talk; their vicious regard and treatment of women will remain and the endemic tradition of vengeance will eventually prevail.
(MindaViews is the opinion section of MindaNews. William R. Adan, Ph.D., is retired professor and former chancellor of Mindanao State University at Naawan, Misamis Oriental, Philippines.)
NAAWAN, Misamis Oriental (MindaNews / 20 August) – The right to life, that is, to stay alive and enjoy the blessings of the Almighty, is the paramount of all human rights.