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| Southeast Asia |
| PHILIPPINES: REPORT QUESTIONS MILITARY CLAIM THAT U.S. USES 'SOFT APPROACH' IN MUSLIM MINDANAO |
| 2007-01-31 |
| Cotabato City, 31 Jan. (AKI) - In the Philippines's southern province of Maguindanao, where al-Qaeda affiliated militants and Muslim rebels are active, American soldiers are making use of a soft approach in order to win the hearts of local Muslims and gain their support in the global war on terror, a Filipino military official told Adnkronos International (AKI). However, an influential think-tank in the Philippines released a report saying otherwise. "Oh, yeah? Well, I know someone who sez otherwise!" [Man wearing silk hat appears] "Otherwise!" [Man wearing silk hat exits, stage left] Lieutenant Colonel Julieto Ando, regional military spokesperson, said that members of United States Joint Special Operation Task Force, in the Philippines to train Filipino soldiers, are focusing on various humanitarian missions to show that Washington's policy on war on terror is not anti-Muslim. "They [the Americans] focus more on humanitarian assistance and peace advocacy and for the people to support the government…not the terrorists. They are not directly involved in military operations," Ando said. According to Ando, Washington's humanitarian missions in Mindanao serve as an important component of their shared commitment to uplift the lives of Filipino Muslims. Everybody who sits up nights worrying about the plight of Filipino Moose limbs, raise your hand... The military official said the US wide range of programmes, funded by the US Agency for International Development, included medical, dental, minor surgery, and engineering civic action plans. The US is also building hospitals, roads, schoolrooms, and water supply systems in Maguindanao, about over 900 kilometres southeast of Manila where the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the country's largest Muslim rebel organization, is operating. "This month alone, they distributed school supplies among Muslim students. To date, over 7,000 individuals have been served since their mission began late last year," Ando said. At the risk of sounding less than supportive of our troops, allow me to observe: Whoopdy doo. I can recall lots of similar projects 40 years ago. I even used to have pictures of a younger, more slender version of myself, doing good works among Our Friends, the South Vietnamese. Had we spent more resources killing and maiming North Vietnamese, things might have gone differently there. It did feel good, helping the poor and the downtrodden, but it wasn't the job of infantry or artillery or even of military intel. However, the US-soft power approach has been dismissed by influential think-tank, Focus on Global South, with a recently released report that claims of a US direct involvement in the offensive against terror groups in the country. "America in Mindanao: Exploiter or Despoiler?" In the report, the author, Herbert Docena, cited US military publications stating that the “deployment is considered by the US military as part of its global war against terror, a war with actual enemies as targets.” He also quoted local people who have seen US marines engaged in combat. "The military's pronouncement goes against what US troops themselves said in military publications, about their mission in the Philippines. They contradict the words of eyewitnesses who claimed to have seen them join Filipino troops in military offensives," Docena said in a telephone interview with AKI. "I seen it! I seen it wid me own eyes! Y'gotta belieeeeeve me!" "In order to get to the bottom of this - and once and for all determine who's telling the truth - we call for an independent investigation into the issue. We can't just take their word for it," he added. "You know what they're like, the bastards!" Also, Docena said it is understandable that many residents are supportive of their presence because the US government has been showering them with millions of dollars worth of projects and donations. "They're bribing the, y'know..." Since the early 1970s, Washington has provided more than four billion dollars in assistance to the Philippines as part of their programme to reduce conflict in Mindanao and other areas vulnerable to violence and access to quality education and livelihood skills increased in selected areas most affected by poverty and conflict. US military experts are currently deployed in the Sulu Archipelago to advice and train Filipino troops who are conducting an offensive against Abu Sayyaf, a home-grown terror group. The Philippines Constitution does not allow foreign troops to engage in combat in the archipelago-country. |
| Posted by:bk |
| #3 However, the US-soft power approach has been dismissed by influential think-tank, Think tanks, idiots who have NEVER been there or done that, one step worse than philosophers. These asses have no idea except that Starbucks is across the street. Stupid f@*ks need to go away and think about just in time logistics, six sigma, and union busting!!! |
| Posted by: 49 Pan 2007-01-31 20:06 |
| #2 What about the daycare centers? Muslim Filipina Moms need daycare centers so they can go off to their 9 to 5 jobs at the ad agencies and brokerage houses, dontchaknow. |
| Posted by: Parabellum 2007-01-31 18:39 |
| #1 The US is also building hospitals, roads, schoolrooms, and water supply systems in Maguindanao, about over 900 kilometres southeast of Manila... Wow! Just like my hero, Osama Bin Laden! |
| Posted by: Sen. Patty Murray 2007-01-31 15:32 |