HONOLULU -- Here they go again! Pundits who six months ago could not find Manila (much less Mindanao) on a map are now busily proclaiming the Philippines to be "the next Afghanistan" -- except, of course, those who are busy proclaiming it "the next Vietnam."
They are being joined in the Philippines by the "the Americans are coming" crowd who are frantically proclaiming that U.S. Special Forces' assistance to Philippine military forces fighting insurgents in the south constitutes an attack, not on terrorism but on Philippine sovereignty. It's time for all these folks to get a grip on reality.
The Philippines is not the next Afghanistan. Actually, Afghanistan is the next Afghanistan. While the "experts" have declared victory and are longing for warmer climates in which to cover the war (Cuba, anyone?), the Pentagon keeps pointing out that the job in Afghanistan has not yet been finished. The Taliban are no longer in power, but the search for some of its key leaders continues as does the most important task -- destroying al-Qaeda's leadership and terrorist network.