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<h2 class="itemTitle"> US Wages ''War on Terror'' in the Philippines
</h2>
<span class="itemDateCreated"> Thursday, 09 April 2015 00:00 </span>
<span class="itemAuthor"> By <a
href="http://www.truth-out.org/author/itemlist/user/48317">Adam
Hudson</a>, <br>
<b><small><small><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/30061-us-wages-war-on-terror-in-the-philippine#">http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/30061-us-wages-war-on-terror-in-the-philippine#</a></small></small></b><br>
</span>
<div class="itemBody">
<div class="itemFullText">
<p>Although Islamic State regularly captures global headlines,
the so-called fight against ''terrorism'' is not just confined
to the Middle East. The United States quietly maintains other
fronts in the War on Terror - including the Philippines.</p>
<p>Last <a
href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/deadly-philippine-clash-strains-pact-to-end-40-year-conflict/2015/01/26/6e8c7046-a577-11e4-a7c2-03d37af98440_story.html"
target="_blank">January</a>, Filipino police from the elite
Special Action Force (SAF) - a Philippine SWAT-style police
unit that's modeled off the British Army Special Air Service
(SAS) - entered Tukanalipao, a small enclave in the Mamasapano
municipality, in the southwestern part of the Philippines'
Mindanao island. Their goal was to arrest <a
href="http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/430766/news/specialreports/infographic-profiling-marwan-and-usman-the-bomb-making-trainors"
target="_blank">two suspected terrorists</a> who were on the
FBI's Most Wanted Terrorist List with hefty US bounties on
their heads - Zulkifli bin Hir (also known as Marwan), a
Malaysian national, bomb maker and leader of the Southeast
Asian Islamic militant group Jemaah Islamiya; and Abdul Basit
Usman, a Filipino rebel and bomb-making expert aligned with
Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah. Neither of these men were
members of al-Qaeda, and there is little evidence suggesting
their involvement in terrorist plots against the US. Marwan
was killed in the operation, and his finger severed and sent
to the FBI to confirm his identity.</p>
<div style="float: left; width: 300px; margin-right: 10px;
margin-bottom: 5px;">
<h3>''It was a mission that we feel like the US used Filipino
pawns to undertake, and where's the fairness in that?''</h3>
</div>
<p>However, the operation also resulted in a violent firefight
between Philippine police commandos and Islamic separatists -
Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and Bangsamoro Islamic
Freedom Fighters (BIFF). Mindanao is the southernmost of the
Philippines' three island groups (Mindanao, Visayas, Luzon).
The southwestern part of Mindanao is home to the Muslim, or
Moro, population, which is comprised of many ethnic groups. It
has also been the location of decades-long fighting between
the Philippine government and Muslim separatists. The
operation - officially named Operation Exodus but called
''Mamasapano massacre'' by many - resulted in 67 deaths, 44 of
which were police, along with some separatists and many
civilians. </p>
<p>What's also been highlighted and <a
href="http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/03/19/demands-accountability-philippines-following-deadly-us-backed-raid"
target="_blank">condemned</a> is the US <a
href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-had-role-in-deadly-counterterrorism-raid-in-philippines/2015/03/17/6ab42816-ccd6-11e4-8a46-b1dc9be5a8ff_story.html"
target="_blank">role</a> in the operation. According to an <a
href="http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/671237/us-drone-watched-mamasapano-debacle"
target="_blank">investigation</a> by the Philippine Daily
Inquirer, a US drone flying overhead provided real-time
intelligence to Filipino commandos and pinpointed Marwan's
location. It added that the United States ''fully funded and
provided the training for the Mamasapano operation.'' Two
government inquiries - one from the Philippine <a
href="http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2015/03/18/1434963/document-senate-panels-report-mamasapano-clash"
target="_blank">Senate</a>, the other from the <a
href="http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2015/03/13/1433196/full-text-pnp-board-inquirys-mamasapano-report"
target="_blank">Philippine National police </a>- both
concluded the United States did play a <a
href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-had-role-in-deadly-counterterrorism-raid-in-philippines/2015/03/17/6ab42816-ccd6-11e4-8a46-b1dc9be5a8ff_story.html"
target="_blank">role</a> in the Mamasapano operation. At
least six US military personnel were at a Philippine command
post and fed Philippine commandos intelligence collected by US
aircraft. One of the Americans even ordered a Filipino army
general to call in artillery fire, although he refused.</p>
<p>The operation has been widely condemned by Filipinos in the
US and in the Philippines. Rhonda Ramiro, vice chair of
BAYAN-USA, a progressive Filipino alliance, told Truthout,
''The interesting thing that we see happening is that people
from right to left, from the conservative end of the spectrum
all the way to the progressive and radical end - people are
really upset about what happened.'' Ramiro said people feel
that the operation ''never should have happened'' because ''it
was really a US-planned operation. An operation to get two
people that were on a US FBI Terrorist List. It wasn't
something that was Philippine-made or Philippine-created or
anything that really served the interests of Filipinos.'' She
added, ''It was a mission that we feel like the US used
Filipino pawns to undertake, and where's the fairness in
that?''</p>
<div style="float: right; width: 300px; margin-left: 10px;
margin-bottom: 5px;">
<h3>The War on Terror provided the US an opportunity to expand
its military footprint in the Philippines.</h3>
</div>
<p>Activists in both countries have been calling for
accountability from Philippine President Benigno Aquino III -
as well as President Obama - for the US' role in the botched
operation.</p>
<p>This operation is one example of the recent impacts of the
United States' ongoing <a
href="http://fpif.org/obama-asia-washington-extracts-rent-free-basing-philippines/"
target="_blank">military presence</a> in the Philippines.
The United States operated military bases in the Philippines
since the archipelago nation became independent in 1946. That
ended in 1991, when the Philippine Senate voted to kick the
American bases out of their country. However, the <a
href="http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/107852.pdf"
target="_blank">Visiting Forces Agreement</a> between the
United States and Philippines - signed in 1998 and put into
effect in 1999 - <a
href="http://web.archive.org/web/20080521115223/http://www.dfa.gov.ph/vfa/frame/frmfaq.htm"
target="_blank">allows</a> for joint military exercises
between the US and Philippine militaries. Now the United
States is <a
href="http://rt.com/usa/philippines-usa-china-sea-176/"
target="_blank">expanding</a> its military presence in the
Asia-Pacific. In light of territorial disputes between the
Philippines and China - along with the <a
href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/obama-announces-new-military-approach/2012/01/05/gIQAFWcmcP_print.html"
target="_blank">Obama administration's</a> strategic and
military shift to Asia, also known as the Asia <a
href="http://www.tomdispatch.com/blog/175799/"
target="_blank">''pivot,'' </a>to counter China's power -
the Philippine and US governments have expanded their military
cooperation efforts. Last year, the US and Philippine
governments <a
href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/27/philippines-us-military-presence-china-dispute"
target="_blank">signed</a> a 10-year pact called the <a
href="http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/358871/news/nation/full-text-of-enhanced-defense-cooperation-agreement"
target="_blank">Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement
(EDCA)</a>, which provides US troops greater access to
select Philippine military bases.</p>
<p>The War on Terror provided the US an opportunity to expand
its military footprint in the Philippines. Of the little
American press coverage of US foreign policy in the
Philippines, much of it focuses on the counterterrorism
aspect, accepting the framework that the Philippines is just
another country partly inhabited with groups of militant,
anti-Western Muslims. But there is a deeper background behind
the situation - one that does not fit into such a narrow frame
of reference.</p>
<p><strong>Muslim Insurgency in the Philippines</strong></p>
<p>Islam was introduced to the Philippines in the late-13th
century by Muslim missionaries, such as Tuan Masha'ika. In
1280, Masha'ika arrived in the Sulu archipelago, where he
established the Philippines' first Muslim community. After
Masha'ika came another Muslim missionary, Karim-ul-Makhdum, in
the mid-14th century. When Rajah Baginda arrived in the early
15th century, his son-in-law, Abu Bakar, created the Sulu
Sultanate. Islam soon spread throughout the rest of Mindanao.</p>
<p>Dr. Jamial A. Kamlian, author of Bangsamoro Society and
Culture, <a
href="http://opinion.inquirer.net/39098/who-are-the-moro-people"
target="_blank">writes</a>, ''Eventually, it is the Islamic
faith that would distinguish the Moros from the other natives
of the Philippine archipelago. Under the sultanates, the Moros
were unified under one leadership, one command and one God.
Islam served not only as a unifying thread for their political
organization but also as the ideological foundation to
effectively resist foreign intrusions.'' Kamlian holds that
the non-Islamic natives were more scattered and presented a
less united front (making them potentially more vulnerable to
foreign colonialism).</p>
<p>The arrival of Spanish colonialism set the stage for the
current conflict in the southern Philippines. In 1521, Spanish
colonizers colonized and, in 1565, incorporated the
Philippines into the Spanish Empire. The Spanish converted
most of the native Filipino population, particularly in the
northern islands, to Christianity, through violent means.
After expelling Muslims from Spain in the late 15th century,
the Spanish colonizers were hell-bent on eliminating any trace
of Islam from the Philippines. In 1578, the Spanish governor
''ordered that 'there be not among them anymore preachers of
the doctrines of Mahoma since it is evil and false' and called
for all mosques to be destroyed,'' <a
href="http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2012/03/20123574732969894.html"
target="_blank">according to</a> an in-depth Al-Jazeera
English op-ed by Ambassador Akbar Ahmed, a former Pakistani
high commissioner to the UK, and Frankie Martin, an Ibn
Khaldun Chair Research Fellow at American University's School
of International Service. Ahmed and Martin add that the
''governor's instructions set the tone for centuries of
continuous warfare.'' For over 300 years, the Moro people
fought the Spanish colonizers.</p>
<p>Once the declining Spanish Empire lost control of the
Philippines after the 1898 Spanish-American War, the United
States replaced Spain and established its own form of colonial
rule in the country. Kamlian writes, ''The US colonial
government systematized and regulated the whole process of
land ownership, land registration, cadastral survey,
homesteading and agricultural investments. Through class
legislation and discriminatory processes, the ancestral lands
and economic resources of the Moros and Lumad would gradually
drift into the hands of Christian Filipino settlers and large
US corporations.'' Additionally, the Moro people lost their
''right to govern themselves according to their own systems''
since their lands were absorbed into the Philippine colonial
bureaucracy.</p>
<p>Philippine independence in 1946 did little to change the
situation of the Moro people. Christian Filipino elites had
the most economic power and were committed to protecting
foreign economic interests. Multinational corporations
controlled the Moro people's economy, particularly in
pineapple, banana and rubber exports. This laid the groundwork
for future conflict.</p>
<div style="float: left; width: 300px; margin-right: 10px;
margin-bottom: 5px;">
<h3>While the Philippines has a constitutional republican form
of government, corruption and oligarchy run deep.</h3>
</div>
<p>''The current conflict,'' explain Ahmed and Martin, ''began
in 1968 with what became known as the Jabidah Massacre, when
around 60, mainly Tausug, recruits in the Philippine Army were
summarily executed after they refused a mission to attack the
Malaysian region of Sabah, where a population of Tausug also
resides.'' The Tausug people are among the 13 Moro ethnic
groups. Angered by the Jabidah Massacre, in 1971, a group of
Moro formed the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) to fight
for Moro independence. Splinter groups eventually grew out of
MNLF, particularly Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and
Abu Sayyaf. MILF and Abu Sayyaf are both Islamic guerrilla
groups but <a
href="http://csis.org/files/publication/111128_Fellman_ASG_AQAMCaseStudy5.pdf"
target="_blank">Abu Sayyaf</a> is more brutal and extreme.
It commits terrorist attacks on civilians - such as
kidnappings, bombings and assassinations - and engages in
criminal activity. Abu Sayyaf has made headlines for both its
terrorist attacks and loose ties to al-Qaeda. Because of this,
the MNLF and MILF tend to distance themselves from Abu Sayyaf,
but the Philippine military accuses both groups of providing
support to Abu Sayyaf.</p>
<p>Poverty and inequality are endemic throughout the
Philippines. As of 2012, the <a
href="http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.GINI"
target="_blank">GINI coefficient</a> - a measurement of
inequality going from 0 the lowest to 1 (or <a
href="http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.GINI"
target="_blank">100</a> by other measurements) the highest -
for the Philippines is .43 (or 43.0). The <a
href="http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2015/03/06/1430828/philippine-poverty-incidence-rises-first-half-2014"
target="_blank">poverty</a> rate is 25.8 percent, according
to <a
href="http://www.nscb.gov.ph/pressreleases/2015/PSA-20150306-SS2-01_poverty.asp"
target="_blank">government statistics</a>. Poverty is most
pronounced in Mindanao, which holds 10 of the country's <a
href="https://www.senate.gov.ph/press_release/2014/0605_aquino1.asp"
target="_blank">poorest 16 provinces</a>. Lanao del Norte is
the poorest, with a 67.3 percent poverty rate.</p>
<p>While the Philippines has a constitutional republican form of
government, corruption and oligarchy run deep. In a population
of 100 million people, there are 178 dynasties that rule 73 -
over 90 percent - of the Philippines' 80 provinces. According
to <a
href="http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2013/05/2013511104835690790.html"
target="_blank">Al-Jazeera English</a>, ''Half come from the
old landed elites, while the rest turned up after the 1986
popular revolt that ousted dictator Ferdinand Marcos.''
Current President Benigno Aquino III also comes from a
political dynasty. His father, Benigno Jr., was a senator,
while his mother was the late-President Corazon Aquino.
Aquino's predecessor, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, is a daughter
of former president Diosdado Macapagal.</p>
<p>It is within this context of poverty, inequality, oligarchic
nepotism and lack of political self-determination that Muslim
separatists, along with many left-wing guerrilla fighters,
labor organizers and political activists, are challenging the
Philippine establishment, through both armed and nonviolent
resistance.</p>
<p><strong>US-Philippine War on Terror</strong></p>
<p>After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the Philippines became an
ally in the US War on Terror. The Philippine government used
this amorphous war as an opportunity to continue its
generations-long war against Muslim separatists in the
southern Philippines. The United States provided the
Philippine government ample assistance in this fight.</p>
<div style="float: right; width: 300px; margin-left: 10px;
margin-bottom: 5px;">
<h3>The people deemed ''terrorists'' by the Philippine
government are often activists, organizers, political
dissidents or separatists fighting for national liberation.</h3>
</div>
<p>In 2002, the United States established a counterterrorism
task force called <a
href="http://jsotf-p.blogspot.com/2011/09/type-your-summary-here_20.html"
target="_blank">Joint Special Operations Task
Force-Philippines</a> (JSOTF-P), a team of US special
operation forces that aid Philippine security forces fighting
Islamic militants. The US' main target is Abu Sayyaf. At its
height, the task force had between 500 to 600 US commandos
assisting the Philippine military with intelligence, training
and transport. Its forces hail from US Army Special Operations
Forces, Navy SEALs, Air Force special operators and other
military services. While US forces are generally not involved
in combat, <a
href="http://www.voanews.com/content/a-13-2009-09-29-voa12/415161.html"
target="_blank">some</a> US military personnel have been <a
href="http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/173383/news/regions/2-us-navy-men-1-marine-killed-in-sulu-land-mine-blast"
target="_blank">killed</a> in the Philippines. In fact, in
early 2012, a US drone strike targeting the Islamic militant
groups Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah <a
href="http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2012/03/20123574732969894.html"
target="_blank">killed</a> 15 people on the southern
Philippine island of Jolo.</p>
<p>While not publicly confirmed, it is possible that the CIA is
on the ground in the Philippines, as well. In a mid-March
story, the Washington Post <a
href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-had-role-in-deadly-counterterrorism-raid-in-philippines/2015/03/17/6ab42816-ccd6-11e4-8a46-b1dc9be5a8ff_story.html"
target="_blank">mentioned</a> that ''It is common for the
elite troops'' from the US antiterrorism task force in the
Philippines ''to work with intelligence operatives from the
CIA and other agencies.'' The CIA didn't answer the Washington
Post's questions about its involvement in the country.</p>
<p>In late February, the United States announced that it would
disband its counterterrorism task force in the Philippines.
According to a US Special Operations Command, Pacific
spokesperson's <a
href="http://news.usni.org/2015/02/27/u-s-officially-ends-special-operations-task-force-in-the-philippines-some-advisors-may-remain"
target="_blank">statement</a> to USNI News, JSOTF-P will
complete the transition on May 1. Some ''personnel will return
to their units,'' while others ''will remain as part of
foreign liaison elements and continue to advise and assist
Philippine counterterrorism efforts . . . This represents a
shift in focus for US Special Operations Forces from advising
and assisting at the small unit level to providing operational
advice and assistance at higher levels of command within the
Philippine Security Forces for continued counterterrorism
progress, humanitarian assistance and civil military
cooperations.''</p>
<p>Thus, while JSOTF-P will be disbanded, US special operations
forces will still maintain a significant presence in the
Philippines, assisting the upper echelons of the Philippine
security apparatus. Moreover, the overall US counterterrorism
mission in the Philippines - dubbed Operation Enduring
Freedom-Philippines - will still <a
href="https://medium.com/war-is-boring/yes-american-commandos-are-still-in-the-philippines-f67dea166460"
target="_blank">continue</a> for the foreseeable future.</p>
<p><strong>Philippine Dirty War on Dissidents</strong></p>
<p>After the September 11th terrorist attacks, the Philippines
joined the US in the global War on Terror. The effort became a
subterfuge for the Philippine government to wage its own
Argentina-style dirty war against political opponents. In
2002, then-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo launched a
counterinsurgency campaign called <em>Oplan Bantay Laya</em>,
or Operation Freedom Watch, to, ostensibly, fight communist
guerrilla fighters. However, the policy's holistic approach <a
href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/13/world/asia/13iht-phils.html"
target="_blank">does not distinguish</a> between armed
combatants and noncombatant activists. For over a decade,
Philippine security forces have assassinated, abducted and
tortured hundreds of left-wing activists, organizers, lawyers,
journalists and religious leaders suspected of being
communists. To vilify dissidents and justify their repression,
the Philippine government will often accuse dissidents of
being terrorist sympathizers.</p>
<p>Getting accurate numbers of people killed or abducted is
difficult, and numbers vary between studies. But most show
that hundreds of people have been killed or abducted since
2001, and most have been activists and other dissidents.</p>
<p>A <a
href="https://asiafoundation.org/resources/pdfs/ReportonPhilippineEJK20012010.pdf"
target="_blank">legal report</a> on the Philippine
government's extrajudicial killings from 2001 to 2010 - during
the Macapagal-Arroyo administration - found that the vast
majority of victims are activists, government officials and
other noncombatant members of the opposition. Of the 390
people killed within that time frame, 32 percent were officers
or members of activist groups, 15 percent were elected
government officials, 15 percent were journalists, 10 percent
were farmers and the rest were others such as lawyers and
religious leaders. Only 8 percent of those victims were armed
rebel fighters.</p>
<p>Of all perpetrators, most are unidentified armed men (57
percent of 837 suspects), while the rest - the perpetrators
who are identified - are typically state actors like the
military (19 percent) or police (9 percent). Only 12 percent
of the suspects were rebels. The Philippine military has
consistently denied involvement in extrajudicial killings and,
in some instances, blame left-wing guerrillas for the
killings.</p>
<p>However, the Philippine military has been uncooperative with
efforts to investigate these killings and hold perpetrators
accountable. A Human Rights Watch <a
href="http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/philippines0711WebRevised.pdf"
target="_blank">report</a> states, ''At the lowest ranks,
the military has created an environment in which foot soldiers
have readily participated in killings of leftist activists. A
military insider told Human Rights Watch that even if the
local commander did not give the order to kill, 'he knows of
everything' and will protect his soldiers. Soldiers have also
been paid as hired killers, acting on behalf of private
interests or other government agencies.'' So it is possible
that many of the unidentified armed men responsible for
extrajudicial killings are paid mercenaries. It is unclear to
what extent military officers higher up the chain of command
are responsible for these extrajudicial killings.</p>
<p>This dirty war has <a
href="http://www.karapatan.org/Aquino+Oplan+Bayanihan+failure+waste+of+people%27s+money"
target="_blank">continued</a> under the Aquino government.
According to <a
href="http://www.karapatan.org/files/K%20Monitor%202Q%202014%20Issue%202_1.pdf"
target="_blank">Karapatan</a>, a <a
href="http://www.karapatan.org/about" target="_blank">human
rights group</a> in the Philippines, from July 2010 to June
2014, there were 204 extrajudicial killings, 21 enforced
disappearances, 99 instances of torture, 3 instances of rape
and 664 people illegally arrested and detained by the Aquino
government.</p>
<p>Even US citizens who are active in Filipino left-wing
politics are targets of government vilification and <a
href="http://bayanusa.org/bayan-usa-demands-end-to-harassment-and-threats-on-brandon-lee-community-leaders/"
target="_blank">repression</a>. One such case is that of <a
href="http://justiceformelissa.org/who-is-melissa/"
target="_blank">Melissa Roxas</a>, a graduate of the
University of California, San Diego, longtime activist and
member of BAYAN-USA. On May 19, 2009, during a medical mission
to the Philippines, Roxas was abducted at gunpoint and
tortured by the Philippine military for six days. Ramiro told
Truthout that members of BAYAN-USA in the San Francisco Bay
Area have been surveilled and interrogated by the FBI, as
well.</p>
<p>This is why the framework of ''terrorism'' is unhelpful for
understanding the situation in the Philippines. The people
deemed ''terrorists'' by the Philippine government are often
activists, organizers, political dissidents or separatists
fighting for national liberation.</p>
<p><strong>Natural Resources in the Philippines</strong></p>
<p>The Philippines, particularly the southern region, is also
rich in <a
href="http://www.academia.edu/5861514/Socio-Economic_Analysis_of_Natural_Resources_in_Mindanao"
target="_blank">natural resources</a>, due to its proximity
to the ''Pacific Rim of Fire.'' It is <a
href="http://www.mgb.gov.ph/Files/ItemLinks/MetallicOresAndIndustrialMineralsOfThePhilippines.pdf"
target="_blank">home</a> to iron, gold, copper, nickel,
chromite and other minerals. Much of its mineral potential is
<a
href="http://philippinemining.imaginet.com.ph/mining_articles/mineral-potential-in-the-philippines"
target="_blank">untapped</a>, which provides opportunities
for investment, exploration and exploitation by foreign
multinational corporations. In 2006, the US embassy in Manila
estimated, in a <a
href="https://www.wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/06MANILA740_a.html"
target="_blank">diplomatic cable released by Wikileaks</a>,
that ''the Philippines may have untapped mineral wealth worth
between $840 billion and $1 trillion.'' Mindanao, in
particular, is seen as ''a treasure trove'' of minerals. The
embassy stated:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>According to data from the GRP Mines and Geosciences
Bureau, up to 70 percent of the Philippines' mineral
resources may be in Mindanao. Interest has grown
significantly since a December 2004 decision by the Supreme
Court upheld the constitutionality of the Mining Act.
Companies that are up to 100 percent foreign-owned may now
pursue investments in large-scale exploration and
development of minerals, oil and gas. As of early 2006,
there were 23 mining projects nationwide. Multinational
firms are already eyeing areas in Mindanao for possible
projects.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Moreover, there are, <a
href="http://www.eia.gov/countries/regions-topics.cfm?fips=scs"
target="_blank">according to</a> the US Energy Information
Administration (EIA), approximately 11 billion barrels of oil
and 190 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in the South China
Sea that have yet to be tapped. Seven countries bordering the
sea - China, Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia,
Brunei and Indonesia - all lay <a
href="http://www.newstatesman.com/business/2013/10/territorial-disputes-south-china-sea-will-not-hold-back-oil-exploration"
target="_blank">competing claims</a> to that oil and natural
gas.</p>
<p>The Wikileaks cable points to a key reason for expansion of
US military power in the Asia-Pacific region. Beyond the
rhetoric of fighting ''terrorism,'' a key reason for US
militarism in the Philippines is to protect American economic
interests.</p>
<p><strong>Peace or Endless War?</strong></p>
<p>Last year, the Philippine government reached a <a
href="http://www.bangkokpost.com/print/391473/"
target="_blank">peace deal</a> with MILF. In exchange for
laying down its arms, the government granted MILF a
concession: Muslims would self-govern parts of the southern
Philippines. As of today, the MILF has decommissioned its
armed rebel forces. However, the Mamasapano operation <a
href="http://fpif.org/the-u-s-military-just-plunged-philippine-politics-into-crisis/"
target="_blank">jeopardized</a> prospects for some semblance
of peace laid down by this deal. Some right-wing elements
argue that the botched operation's police deaths show that the
Moro people are not ''ready'' for peace and cannot be trusted;
they lay the blame on Muslims for what happened.</p>
<p>One month after the Mamasapano massacre, the armed forces of
Philippines Chief General Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr. <a
href="http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/442203/news/nation/afp-chief-catapang-orders-all-out-offensive-vs-biff"
target="_blank">ordered</a> an all-out offensive against the
Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters. Recently, Gen. Catapang <a
href="http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/461230/news/nation/all-out-military-offensive-vs-biff-halted-afp-chief"
target="_blank">announced</a> that the offensive ended as
the military had achieved its objectives. The offensive killed
139 BIFF men, wounded 53 and captured 12, according to
Catapang. However, tens of thousands of civilians were also
displaced due to the fighting.</p>
<p>However, Ramiro points out, there is widespread unity among
Filipinos in holding the government accountable for the failed
operation and for letting the United States violate Philippine
sovereignty. Some are even calling for Aquino to resign. At
the same time, according to Ramiro, ''There are definitely
those forces in Philippine society that don't want that kind
of unity, that would rather have the status quo. So they're
calling for all-out war.''</p>
<p>But war, she said, is not the recipe for peace. ''If we want
to achieve peace, it's not going to be through these kinds of
operations. It's going to be through addressing poverty and
inequality,'' said Ramiro. </p>
<p>The US role in the Mamasapano massacre underscores how far
the War on Terror has spread over the past 13 years. Even
though the original Authorization for Use of Military Force
(AUMF) gave the president the power to use military force
against those responsible for 9/11 attacks, it has been
stretched to include not just al-Qaeda, but also ''associated
forces.'' This loose term - coupled with an expansive
interpretation - gives the US legal cover to use force against
any Islamic militant group that may or may not pose a direct
threat to the United States.</p>
<p>Since most of al-Qaeda's base is gone, the US is waging
borderless, perpetual war against a slew of loose,
transnational terrorist networks who hardly pose an
existential threat to the United States. Much of this war is
waged in the shadows with paramilitary and elite special
operations forces, mercenaries and allied proxies around the
world. One underreported front in this borderless, perpetual
war is the Philippines. The botched Mamasapano operation is
one of many examples of how the War on Terror generates more
instability, exacerbates human suffering and undermines true
peace and justice.</p>
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