| Background: MindaNews is sympathetic to if not the mouthpiece of Abu Sayyaf in the Philippines, so put on your Salafi-colored glasses while reading this report... |
“Contrary to previous efforts by the US and Philippine governments to portray the troops as participating only in temporary training exercises called the Balikatan, it has since been revealed that this unit has stayed on and maintained its presence in the country for the last six years,” it said.
Agence France Press reported that US troops were aboard a Humvee armored jeep as two US soldiers manned a vehicle-top mounted machine-gun in Sulu. The US soldiers' helmets bore miniature US flags. | Not miniature U.S. flags! Quick, Ethel! My pills! |
The sighting of US troops came just as President Arroyo ordered the offensive in Sulu.
Focus on the Global South early this year published its research on the JSOTF-P, titled, “Unconventional Warfare: Are US Special Forces Engaged in an ‘Offensive’ War in the Philippines?” (http://www.focusweb.org/index.php/). It said it had “gathered pronouncements by US troops themselves who have gone on record to say that their mission in (Mindanao) is ‘unconventional warfare’ – a US military term that encompasses combat operations.”
“With the Philippine government not giving a definite exit date, and with US officials stating that this unit – composed of between 100 to 500 troops depending on the season – will stay on as long as they are allowed by the government, it is presumed that it will continue to be based in the Philippines for an indefinite period,” the statement read. “Beyond being involved in the war, Focus draws attention to this unit having effectively established a new kind of basing in the Philippines,” it said.The JSOTF-P’s stationing in Mindanao “is a prototype of the new kind of overseas basing that the US has introduced as part of its ongoing effort to realign its global basing structure,” it said.
Global Focus on the South reported that since 2001, the US which has more than 700 bases and installations in over 100 countries around the world – had embarked on the most radical realignment of its overseas basing network since World War II. Part of the changes is the move away from large permanent bases – such as the ones in Subic and Clark – “in favor of smaller, more austere, more low profile bases such as the JSOTF-P’s presence in Zamboanga and in other places in southern Mindanao.”In terms of profile and mission, Focus noted that JSOTF-P is “very similar to the Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa which was established in Djibouti in western Africa in 2003 and which has been described as a sample of the US austere basing template and the “model for future US military operations.”
Global Focus on the South said it believes that “the Philippines is one of the ‘nodes for special operations forces’ that former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld himself revealed the Pentagon would establish as part of its changes in Asia.
It pointed to how US troops themselves refer to their base in Jolo as “Advance Operating Base-920.”
Renato Reyes, Jr., BAYAN secretary-general, asked in a press statement “why are US troops involved in actual combat missions in Sulu? The sight of fully armed US troops traveling in the Philippine military convoy is a clear indication that the Americans are there for actual combat and military intervention.”KMP chair Rafael Mariano said the participation of US troops in combat “is a clear violation of Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) and a slap on the face of the Filipino people. If the Macapagal-Arroyo regime does not do anything about it then its servility to the Bush administration is further proven. At the very least a probe is in order and the immediate pull out of US troops in the area. The junking of the Visiting Forces Agreement is also not far off, because of this.”
Anakpawis Rep. Beltran said the participation of US troops in the war operations were in clear violation of the VFA and more importantly, provisions of the Philippine Constitution on internal security and sovereignty. He said that the onset, “the AFP should issue an official statement on the involvement of the US troops and divulge how many US troops are actually participating and in which areas they are being deployed.” He said it was also illegal for US troops to be conducting covert operations on Philippine soil. Last week in Davao City, Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon said they “keep tab” of the US troops in Mindanao but did not answer the question on how many American soldiers are presently in Mindanao. Esperon told a press conference August 10 that the US soldiers in Mindanao or in the other parts of the country are here as “mutually agreed upon” for activities such as Balikatan and Kapit Bisig. He said some American soldiers are also giving lectures on subjects of their expertise. When a reporter cited the presence of US troops in the aftermath of bombings in Mindanao, Esperon said they’re likely providing “technical assistance” or are giving “technical briefings about some materials.”
When American troops landed in Zamboanga City for Balikatan 02-1 in January 2002, the first time after the US military bases in the country were ousted in 1991, they were supposed to stay only until July that year but some stayed behind to do civil works, to finish construction and do some humanitarian programs in the city and in neighboring Basilan. Since January 2002, there had always been a batch of American soldiers in Mindanao but how many they are, US and Philippine military officials are not saying. Asked about the seemingly continuous US military presence since 2002, then US Ambassador Francis Ricciardone told MindaNews in an interview in February 2005 that “we established a semi-continuous, not permanent, but semi-continuous (military presence), that is to say, some number of our personnel, rotate, at the pleasure of the command, your command…It’s a high-priced consultancy, only we’re doing it for free. And the second your command says it’s not useful, we leave.”