As information began to trickle in about the disastrous Mission called “Wolverine” I could not help note some similarity and the possibility that “Mission Wolverine” might have been an attempt by the PNoy Misadministration to copy “Operation Neptune Spear” where the Obama administration successfully killed and disposed of Osama Bin Laden without a single casualty among the 25-man SEAL team as well as boosting the popularity ratings of Barack Obama.
We initially suspected that the mission might have been some rogue activity designed to take out the terrorists purely for the reward money of $5 million. But when we learned that the PNP-OIC Leonardo Espina as well as the Secretary of Interior and Local Government Mar Roxas had been kept in the dark while the suspended Chief of the PNP Alan Purisima was suspected of being the conductor of the entire operation, that’s when I began to wonder if Operation Wolverine was not just about neutralizing terrorists but possibly a mad plan to restore or rebuild some people’s reputation as leaders and their nearly washed out careers or popularity.
A quick review of the two contrasting missions will certainly raise eyebrows if not blood pressures. Operation Neptune Spear came together after years of surveillance and high tech intelligence work. They actually conducted physical and visual survey of the location that involved agents knocking at the compound’s gates just to get a peek. Based on those “Look and see” operations, they planned and prepared the attack, including the construction of a “mock up” of the compound and several weeks of “exercise.” They employed stealth aviation technology and deployed specialists in minimum numbers and then they all hunkered down to get the job done.
“Operation Wolverine” on the other hand was a bold if not a suicide mission to take out a Bomb-Maker and an international terrorist both of whom were suspected of being the leading roles in the escalating terrorist bombings in Mindanao. How the local boys figured out the presence and exact location of the targets could only have been done by very sophisticated equipment we don’t have, such as drones and spy satellites or some greedy Ali Baba must have found 5 million dollars very inspiring or a way to fund their Jihadist causes. Given that the word “secret” and “Intelligence” is an oxymoron in this country it might be safe to assume that it did not take years to study the situation and form the plan. That the teams ran afoul of the MILF and the BIFF as well as ran out of ammunition undoubtedly proves the point.
Last week, the US military recently sent in a killer drone to kill a chemical weapons manufacturer for the AQAP or Al Qaeda Arabian Peninsula. I can’t help but wonder why a battalion of SAF members were sent to Hell? Why didn’t PNoy simply request to “borrow” one of those smart toys from his buddy Barack given they had a common enemy? The word is they got the Bomb-Maker but the tactician who probably selected sites and formed teams managed to evade what was suppose to be a combined 390 strong Special Action Force pulled out from various camps in the region. Sadly 44 officers were Killed In Action, 18 enemies neutralized and no one is taking responsibility for the mission or being man enough to take the blame.
In the last 3 days, I have heard all the accusations, defense and theories about what went wrong or what PNoy failed to do in the empathy and sympathy department. But at the end of the day or whenever and wherever this national tragedy ends, the inescapable fact is that President Benigno Simeon Cojuangco Aquino III is the Commander in Chief and whether he called it or not, he should take responsibility and be transparent about the matter. Call it a catch-22 problem: Damned if he did, and damned if he didn’t. Sending out his political apologists to call for calm and to look at the bigger picture is a clear sign that the PNoy Misadministration intends to delay, divert and escape public scrutiny. Peace talks with the MILF is not the issue. The issue is who sent our sons, brothers, and fathers to their death and was it worth for the “SAF-44” to pay with their blood.
Directing us to the government’s intent and commitment to have the matter investigated is a clear avoidance of the question: Did the President know of Operation Wolverine? That is personal knowledge that does not require investigation. Did he authorize the operation? Did the suspended Chief of the PNP coordinate, direct or in anyway participate in the operation in defiance of the Ombudsman? Whatever the answers are, the TRUTH is the only thing that will bring peace to the widows, orphans, and families as well as the Filipino nation.
Given people’s anger about his lack of priorities and sympathy, the President did well to go back to the bereaved families and spend 15 minutes of his precious time to console the orphans and widows. The government did well to assure every family of an initial 250 thousand pesos and a total of 1 million pesos each. Sadly every time the PNoy Misadministration screws up, someone always gets the blame, gets fired, and the damage is repaid in cash. That was the case in the Luneta Massacre, the killing of a Taiwanese fisherman, During Typhoon Yolanda in Tacloban, the death of a Catholic volunteer during the Pope’s visit and now in “Operation Wolverine”.
This administration will leave one certain legacy: Thousands of people died under their watch. They have failed in their competency and in their sympathy. Shall we now add “Failed in Honesty”?
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