“You cannot always control what goes on outside. But you can always control what goes on inside.” －Wayne Dyer

Despite tensions between the US and Iran appearing to simmer down, many Filipino-Americans may have canceled trips overseas for safety reasons. Those choosing not to travel will miss out on the various cultural and spiritual festivals celebrated annually in the Philippines
With the presence of pro-Iran and anti-American sentiment, the United States will continue to be a target of terrorist attacks.
I’ve learned some US-based Filipinos who regularly visit the Philippines this time of the year are hesitant to fly due to the current situation. Their paranoia has since been exacerbated after a Ukrainian International Airlines plane was shot down last Wednesday in Tehran, which the Iranians admitted to shooting down.
While US officials typically participate in the investigation of plane crashes, it is unclear if American officials would be allowed to look into the case considering the recent missile attack launched by Iran.
Some claim the US is now in a worse geopolitical position.
According to CNN reporter Stephen Collison, after Iran reportedly wriggling out of the last constraints of the Iran nuclear deal, an agreement drafted under former US President Barack Obama, the United States is edging closer to being forced out of Iraq, where the airstrike against Iranian general Qasem Soleimani took place.
He went on to call the matter “an insult to Iraqi sovereignty.”
Collison continued, “Trump compounded the damage by threatening to sanction the star-crossed nation invaded by US-led troops in 2003 if American forces are kicked out.”
A departure by the US from Iraq would hamper the fight against extremism and hand a prize to Baghdad’s bigger, more powerful neighbor.  For reasons of military logistics, it would likely force the US to abandon the remnants of its fight against ISIS in Syria.

***
Alex P. Vidal, who is based in New York City, used to be the editor for two local dailies in Iloilo./WDJ