US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said last Friday (Nov. 7) that she will travel to the Philippines next week to "show solidarity" with the storm-battered nation, just after her visits to Singapore and Berlin.The US State Secretary futher announced she will join President Barack Obama during his visit to China from November 15-18, her second trip as chief diplomat to the country the Obama administration recognizes as a key global player.
In a flurry of travel announcements this week, Clinton and her aides announced her tour of Europe and Asia, one that comes on top of a tour of Pakistan and the Middle East that only ended on Wednesday.
"I'll be going to the Philippines, to show solidarity with our friends in the Philippines who have been battered by typhoons and have just suffered so much over the last weeks," Clinton said in a speech in Washington.
Typhoon Santi (international name Mirinae) swept over the main island Luzon on Saturday, dumping heavy rain and bringing strong winds just weeks after Tropical Storm Ondoy (Ketsana) and Typhoon (Pepeng) Parma left about 1,100 dead and tens of thousands homeless.
Amidst all this, you can't help but wonder, if this is the "recon team" moving for a closer look as the timing of the visits are uncanny - after all, we only have a couple of months left for the 2010 elections, and one can't help but wonder why the US is taking extra measures to "look" into the nation's status this time around.
Of course the fact that the "double-whammy" of Ondoy-Peping just happened to be relevant doesn't really show what the "clear picture" was.
Can't get to see what the 2010 election blockbuster will look like. Already the "actors" and "actresses" are busy as hell filling the air with their "charm" and "wit"... somethings never really changes...
No comments:
Post a Comment