Re:.. Devastating American Airstrikes
After the Philippine revolution won the island freedom from Spain, President William McKinley issued a Proclamation of Benevolent Assimilation On December 21, 1898.
The Philippine Independence leader responded :
My government cannot remain indifferent in view of such a violent and aggressive seizure of a portion of its territory by a nation which arrogated to itself the title of champion of oppressed nations.
On Feb 4th, the US started the war. And proceeded with committing atrocities, herding the natives into concentration camps, killing entire towns, men, women, children, in doing so.
Little has changed. The US still arrogates to itself the title of champion of oppressed nations.
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[1] Pacific Historical Review Vol. 43, No. 2, May, 1974 American Atrocities ...
Pacific Historical Review . Richard E. Welch, Jr
"American Atrocities in the Philippines: The Indictment and the Response"
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It's looking a lot like a "clash of civilizations" to any honest observer (which would discount almost all academics today, and legacy media journalists - after all their pay check or standing in their various professions depends on their towing the party line of American guilt and long-forgotten colonial grievances). It also looks like a World War....asymmetrical, low-intensity, and long lasting. Yet Trump is considered a "bigot" for wanting to impose a "Muslim ban". Looks like a prudential precaution after Marawi and the countless truck attacks, no-go zones, mass sex assaults, religious-inspired murders, beheadings, and assassinations which we are treated to as a result of our (Europe's) open borders and humanitarianism. All this just so as not to be called "racist" or "bigot" - it's a high price for social respectability - the value of which has come down quite a bit these days - just look at Eastern Europe and America under Trump.
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Barring a group of people from entering a country, based on their religious beliefs alone, is perhaps one of the most sheltered, and misguided ways to bring about lower levels of extremist violence.
A ban, contrary to populist beliefs, only emboldens those that would see the U.S. as their existential enemy. It gives them a clear cut way to demonstrate that the the population at large, vilify their religion. This leads to higher levels of extremist recruitment, and often, more numerous, and more impassioned acts of violence, NOT less. Not to mention, that it also singles out a group of people that are already legitimized within the U.S., as potential threats to the nation. This weakens the overall societal structure of the country, and further agitates the already fragile ideal of "national unity".
I believe democracy is a great system of governance, because we get to discuss this issue with each other. I respect that you, at this time, believe that option is a good solution, however, I would suggest that you expand your horizons. No one that has extensively traveled with an open mind, and has conversed with people from different faiths and cultures, would ever suggest such a naive, and sheltered, "solution" to the problem. Being called a "racist" or a "bigot", as you put it, are only natural side effects of suggesting something that clearly is, as it has no solid understanding behind it, and can hardly be construed as a rational way to solve a world wide problem.
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Religious strife, becomes economic strife becomes end of life strife thank goodness there’s only one race there.
America is losing its' influence around the world.
Africa is another example where China is increasing its' influence.
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Maybe the Chinese would be interested in rebuilding Puerto Rico. Americans sure aren't.
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Its too bad Duterte is giving away everything to the Chinese!
I remember, a news story a while ago, some country in the Indian Ocean or perhaps closer to Africa, which incurred heavy debt to China, the end result being China given full authority to control the destiny of the country, because the debt couldn't be paid back. Nothing is free from China. USA is one of the few countries along with Britain that has concepts like aid, grant and so forth; totally foreign to china.. However, to China's credit, things of a development nature gets done, and done quickly. If it is a "silk road", it gets built fast instead of being getting stuck in red-rape in other countries.
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Sri Lanka owes so much money to China that it had to give China control of one of its ports.
We also owe a lot of money to China. I'm not sure why we borrow money from China to give it as aid to other countries.
"However, to China's credit, things of a development nature gets done, and done quickly. If it is a "silk road", it gets built fast instead of being getting stuck in red-rape in other countries."
Yes, what a perfect system by which to govern, authoritarian democracy. Unfortunately that's an oxymoron because..... "a rose is a rose is a rose" to quote Gertrude Stein.
Protecting people, giving them agency, in as much as it is possible, over their rights and property - red tape - admittedly slows almost any large project down. It is also the difference between the arbitrary use of government coercion and allowing people to own what is theirs.
The Keystone pipeline is almost the perfect example. The native Americans from the Standing Rock reservation had pursued their way of life for generations undisturbed and ignored by the rest of the country. Suddenly when their land became temporarily valuable because of the chance for others to make some fast money, the protections that had afforded the rights of this ancient people in treaty after treaty disappeared - no more red tape.
Belaboring the point further is....pointless. If you don't get it by now you never will.
Why not award these folks a contract to rebuild some of Puerto Rico...
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America drops bombs, China gets rebuilding contracts.
Same pattern in Iraq, Afghanistan and West Africa.
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I realize there's no place like home, but really, the lucky ones had 'house had burned down early in the fighting, and weeds had sprouted up from the ashes'. Who wants to live in 'a Muslim region (continuously) marginalized by Catholic majority'. Yet Allah and Jesus are to be worshiped and fought over?
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Planet Earth is certainly no place for religions. Perhaps try them on Mars or any other uninhabited places in the universe. All they all is poison to anything living.
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There were never any reports that America participated in air strikes in Marawi. Where is the reporter getting this information? Was this confirmed by the Pentagon. The only American participation I ever saw reported was the use of American surveillance planes and some special forces on the ground. I think the Times needs to clarify this and provide confirmation from the US military. Otherwise this is greatly misleading.
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China is busily colonizing all the places the USA and Europe did.
Bet they won’t be removed so easily once they’re in. Half of Africa is a Chinese client state now while we busily twiddle our thumbs and bomb people with drones.
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"Long known as the “Islamic capital” of the Philippines, Marawi has a history of marginalization ... Many refused to register their property, preferring to stay off government books."
"Mr. Duterte released a presidential proclamation classifying much of Marawi’s present area as a military reservation, offering to repay residents for whatever areas are claimed"
What will happen if the government claims any of the properties which residents have refused to register? Were the residents paying taxes on their unregistered properties? If the owners did not register or pay taxes on their properties, do they own the properties? If the government reclassifies any of the unregistered properties, will it pay for them?
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Duterte railed and raged against the U.S. in a bid to drum up nationalist support but when the going got tough, he “grudgingly asked” the U.S. for help when Marawi was overrun by Islamic militants. This hypocrisy is typical of many countries’ attitudes towards the U.S.: the U.S. is the great enemy unless and until there is a problem, in which case, the U.S. is expected to quickly provide assistance.
It’s interesting that in order to move the “Philippines further out of U.S. orbit” Duterte is cultivating ties with China instead, particularly in the rebuilding of Marawi. Does he really think that investments from China into the Philippines is a “no strings attached” deal? Getting bridges and infrastructures from China might seem great but its intentions are not altruistic. China’s Belt & Road initiative is essentially a bribe so that the governments of nearby Asian countries look the other way as China continues to claim sovereignty over ever expanding areas of the South China Sea.
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The USA destroyed Vietnam and Iraq. What comparable damage has China unleashed on the world?
<> Do you remember the Monroe Doctrine? Do you remember how the USA stole Panama from Colombia when it wanted to build a canal there? The list goes on and on.
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One thing the article doesn't address is the fact that Marawi wasn't exactly a panacea prior to the siege. It's long been a no-go area for foreign diplomats and many western aid workers. The authors note accusations of Philippine government neglect on account of sectarian reasons but don't note that any shortfall in government funds to the city and surrounding region were by far surpassed by inflows of illicit Saudi money and other funds originating in the Middle East. Rebuilding Marawi will be important, but more interesting will be to see how it's resettled. Will the government try to create a more mixed city of Christians and Muslims? Another interesting question: Don't think just because Marawi is gone, the wellspring of Arab money will dry up. It won't. There's too much confessional investment wrapped up in all this. The question is, what Mindanao city will be the be the beneficiary of it in the years to come? (metropole) Cotabato? (tiny) Tungawan? (island) Basilan?
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To overcome separatist conflicts in Mindanao, President Duterte, who currently enjoys supermajority support in the legislature, is seeking to pass the revised Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) —a legal framework for granting Muslims in Mindanao autonomous self-government by merging Mindanao provinces under one Bangsamoro entity.
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As Mr. Duterte moves closer to China the next time he faces off against ISIS let him ask China for military assistance. Let's see how ready and how much China is to sacrifice for the Philippines. How much sovereignty are the Philippines willing to sacrifice too?
The Philippines will pay a dear price for China's assistance.
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Afghanistan, Iraq, Lybia, Syria,... : the US (and Russia and Europe) fight the war; China sells TV, refrigerators, cellular phones, etc. and gets the contracts for oil and reconstruction The Philippines only fits into the pattern.
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With all the buns-kissing Trump dished to the fascist Duterte, Trump apparently couldn't help US business land that huge reconstruction project, losing out to the Chinese. Is that making America greater?
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"leading to months of military siege and devastating American airstrikes"
Was the American bombing campaign in the Philippines covered in the New York Times?
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very much so.
Here are all the articles the NYT has written about the Philippines in the last year:
https://www.nytimes.com/topic/destination/philippines
I don't see a single mention of American bombings.
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Very much like the military operations in Africa
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Duterte is sitting in Xi's lap. The US is stupid to support the Philippines.
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Where's the surprise? The Philippines is only one example of this divide. It's replicating itself around the world. It's ironic China, the alleged "bullying" totalitarian dystopia, with a citizen government approval rating of close to 90% is going around the world partnering with countries building infrastructure, hospitals, roads, universities and high speed rail etc... basically building things though both its belt and road program and its new Asian infrastructure development bank. A bank BTW which the US worked over time to derail and failed miserably to do so. Meanwhile, the US which still fancies itself a beacon for everything the rest of the world should want to be has morphed into a plutocratic military superpower you turn to if you want to blow something up or assistance in killing people in large numbers through weapons sales or logistical support (see Yemen etc...etc..). That's what it comes down to in the Philippines and elsewhere these days. If you want destruction you turn to the US if you want to build something work with the Chinese. The best the US can hope for with the current dynamic is to constantly increase tensions in the geographic areas they wish to retain "dominant" influence over so military matters trump economic concerns. Bonus? You get to sell more weapon systems. So remind me again who the bad guy here is? Time for a reset of the US's military industrial complex/peace time economy paradigm if it wants to recapture the world's imagination.
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Sure.All part of a colonial strategy.The Europeans did the same.The excuse was to civilize the rest of the world.Look how that turned out.
This event did not get the notice it deserved.
We should all be concerned about ISIS uprisings. When I read about this, I wonder about how American policies would have affected what was basically a war against the people in one part of a country.
I would like to know about gun ownership laws in the Phillipines? Would an armed populace have altered the outcome? Would a Phillipines "NSA" organization have helped prevent this?
I wonder how much kickback has Mr Duterte already received for : soft stance on Philippine maritime dispute with China,; for allowing Chinese presence on Benham rise; now for awarding this contract. The President needs to re-orient our country's alliance. If he wants to move on without the US, then do so without China. We cannot be a party to this tug of war. Next thing you know every piece of goods in our country is made in China.
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Funny how massive destruction carried out with the help of the United States, killing untold number of people is seen in a good light, but reconstructive efforts by China is made to look like China is the evil empire here. Methinks it's sour grapes that the USA wasn't awarded the contract to rebuild the very thing they destroyed?
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It is well documented that China also supplied the Philippines AFP weapons during this battle. Duterte boasted that it was a Chinese sniper rifle used to shoot and kill Hapilon and Maute. China was just as much involved in the destruction of Marawi as the US was, which wasn’t that much other than the supply of weapons. The Philippines essentially carried out this battle on their own.
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The ruined city is of interest because of the contract the Chinese get. Is it so? No wonder the report shows no pictures of the mimed, the blood stains, the graves, if any ... in other words, the real price of the war -- the human price.
The sad price of war and the people who end up paying it.
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