The War is On, and will Soon be Over

       Five days into the war in Iraq, the Philippine economy is not showing any sign it’s going to have major problems caused by the war. On the contrary, the peso-dollar rate is virtually steady and oil prices are going down.

       Soon, the world would heave a sign of relief and this would show in increased demand for services where Filipinos are good at. This would be in engineering, medicine, education, and information technology.

     It looks like from an economic standpoint the war will be a win-win situation for all countries particularly if the humanitarian assistance is as decisive as the predicted victory of the coalition forces. More so, if political stability is enhanced in Iraq, the Middle East, and the world as democratic institutions are set up.

      Only the use of chemical weapons can ruin a promising post-war scenario. The loss of thousands of lives as a result of such a last-ditch criminal act by the Iraqi military would set back efforts to quickly normalize the economic life of that country. It will create enormous ripples in the political world that could take years to stabilize.

      But whatever happens now in Iraq, it looks like our worst fears are over.

      So while this is not to say we like war, we can go back to that TV tube and enjoy a first ever live TV coverage of a war on a 24-hour basis. Or you can watch it on the internet where CNN can also be seen live.