My friend Michael Yon, writing from the islands:
Until recently, Afghanistan was called The Forgotten War. The dramatic domestic, regional, and international politics of the Iraq war largely eclipsed the fact that our people were fighting just as hard in Afghanistan. Although were paying attention to AfPak now, off the radar screen an important and related fight has been unfolding in the Philippines.
At the invitation of the Philippine government, the U.S. maintains about 600 troops, including Army Green Berets, Civil Affairs, and Military Information Support teams, Navy SEALS and Seabees, along with Air Force personnel and Marines. Our military forces are deployed in six locations: Zamboanga, Mindanao, Jolo, Basilan, Tawi Tawi, and a small number of liaison staff on Luzon. Their mission is to help the Armed Forces of the Philippines eliminate terrorist groups like Jemaah Islamiyah and the Abu Sayyaf Group and to prevent them from establishing safe havens from which to train other terrorists, both internal and external.
Read the whole thing, the details are fascinating. Open this up to a discussion on whether or not it was wise of the Philippine government to boot us from Subic Bay and Clark Air Base (keeping in mind that the Moro Islamic Liberation Front –at the time of our expulsion– was still relatively quiet and had yet to declare jihad on the local government).
–John Noonan
Their air force has no more air superiority fighters and their navy still uses retired US ships from WWII. Manila is reliant on American supplements to their military, so I was always confused why they kicked us out in ’92. Those bases were critical in disaster relief when Pinatubo blew that same year.
Nicaragua anyone? noone for democracy and freedom?
Wisdom in removing an ally’s support base has much to do with internal politics. Manila/tagalog elites of the Philippines had been as thoroughly split by Chinese co-optation in 1992 as they were by the Japanese in 1941, when Quezon was utterly surprised at how many of his richest friends deserted him as the Japanese invaded. The results now are possibly good, because it removes a major racial (yes, my dears, racism in elites against those of european descent is alive and well in many places, kept alive by ritually flogging the old colonials in political discussion) irritant to allowing US troops incountry to help the AFP.
It is fascinating that the Philippines Army has been the predominant service in an island nation with 7,000+ islands. It tells a lot about how much the Manila/tagalog elites have to suppress in the interior of their larger islands. The Philippines Navy, and their Marines, seem to be taking the lead in places like the Jolo Archipelago, where the sea is never far away, and is the major transport route to be watched.
As in Iraq, population protection is apparently being tried, in a situation at leat as complex. I have no idea which way this frog will end up jumping, though.
Regards,
Tom Billings
Please note that Mindanao is an island in southern Philippines and not a province.
Being a Filipino, I would more than welcome the return of the US military in the country in whatever capacity. The politicians who voted Clark & Subic out of the country were all self-serving hypocrites who spend their vacations in the US and have their children go to US colleges. These are the same politicians who are currently selling out pieces of the country to the Chinese and whoever else will give them a cut of the profits.
Both my grandfathers were in the Death March and fought for the Philippines. My uncles and cousins have served both in the Philippine military and the US military…those who are still currently serving have said the same thing — the problem is the current government’s corruption as well as the corruption of some of the generals. Money that should be used to equip our troops end of going somewhere else.
WE NEED the US for military assistance but there’s always some hypocrite politician who say the country will give in to “imperialism” if we allow US troops in the country.
My relatives in the Philippine military have told stories about how they were always so close to wiping out the MILF/MNLF at times when they were suddenly ordered to stop the attack by some politician in Manila.
On October 23 2008, a UAV crashed in the Philipines (excuse my spelling), jihadist their acused the U.S of covert ops in the country. Anyone who knows more about this story please share.
I was told by a Filipino Japanese that the Phillppines Loves Americans but hate the American military this the boot from Subic Bay Base.
Just what I heard.
Maybe this local homegrown terrorisim might induce them to reopen base?
But the Filipinos Love Americans & hate our Military.
Source claims main cause was our GIs were raping thier women.
IE the boot from Subic Bay Naval Base.
The other white guy in the Phillipines
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,20578367–601,00.html
American service men are not raping philipine women.
Why would they? The philipine sex trade is internationally notorious. I’m sure american men are a hot commodity, bought or willing. Philipine men are will known to be male chauvinists.