When Uncle Sam comes marching in (Philippines)

[rodeodance]

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/HB25Ae04.html

Feb 25, 2006


When Uncle Sam comes marching in
By Herbert Docena

SULU, Philippines - About 5,500 US soldiers are coming to the Philippines this month, the latest and reportedly the largest batch in the continuing and uninterrupted deployment of US troops to the country since the "global war on terror" was launched after September 11, 2001.

About 250 of them will join an undetermined number of US troops already in Sulu, an island in the southern Philippines where the

Abu Sayyaf group supposedly fled after being driven out of neighboring Basilan island, where US troops were also previously deployed. If official pronouncements are to be believed, US troops are coming only to train Filipino soldiers, give away medicine, build schools and even give veterinary services.

According to people who claim to have actually seen them in action, however, US troops who have been coming to the country are doing more than that. The target: not a terrorist group but legitimate liberation movements in the country. ........

[bemildred]

1. Same old shit. nt

[IndianaGreen]

2. In a state of panic, the US-Arroyo Regime digs its own grave

In a state of panic, the US-Arroyo Regime digs its own grave

Jorge "Ka Oris" Madlos

Spokesperson
National Democratic Front of the Philippines-Mindanao
February 24, 2006

Desperately holding on to authority, Arroyo is unleashing its fascist attacks on both the traditional and progressive opposition. In the countrysides and cities, Arroyo's minions of fascist generals are responsible for the murders of leaders and members of legal democratic mass organizations. In Mindanao, the recent murders of 3 community leaders in Makilala, North Cotabato, 1 transport leader in Davao City, 1 peasant leader in Cagwait, Surigao del Sur, 3 in San Luis, Agusan del Sur, 1 in Bislig City, 1 in Kitcharao, Agusan del Norte and 4 in Cecilia, Bayugan, Agusan del Sur indicate the adoption of General Jovito Palparan's annihilation campaign by the AFP Southern Command against democratic leaders.

Arroyo placates the US imperialist by kowtowing to the latter's demands for more areas to be covered by the Balikatan exercises to make the Philippines a staging ground for the bogus “war on terror.” She has opened Mindanao provinces to these exercises despite stiff opposition from local governments and the people, and in clear violation of the national sovereignty. A shift in American loyalty as shown in the ouster of the Marcos Dictatorship, however, is certain as the mass movement once more becomes decisive in shaping history.

Arroyo's continued rein is the biggest irony in the upcoming observance of EDSA II People Power anniversary. Arroyo's arrogance mocks the collective power of the people to effect a regime change. A transition council where sectors and progressive forces are equitably represented is a pressing alternative as the Arroyo Regime becomes more loathsome by the day.

NDF-Mindanao contributes to the hastening of Arroyo's ouster through its consistent adherence to People's Protracted War which seeks the overthrow, not only of Arroyo as the representative of the ruling class, but of the whole ruling system dominated by landlords, bureaucrat capitalists and imperialists. More tactical offensives are sweeping Mindanao as part of the Protracted People's War and as a way to punish the intractable US-Arroyo Regime.

PRWC

[cliss]

3. Really? I'll believe it

when I see it. At this point, the US military is stretched thin. So thin, in fact, that it's gotten to the breaking point.

I believe the US has about 1.3 million active troops around the world. Now consider that the world just passed the 6 1/2 BILLION number. Now I realize that not all countries are hotbeds of unrest. But the areas of unrest seem to be growing.

We simply cannot be everywhere around the world. It's implausible and I bet you Rumsfailed has seen those figures also.

This has always been the problem with the US: we're only 3.8% of the world's population, and yet we feel we can jerk around the other 96%. No wonder Bush is delusional.

[BrotherBuzz]

4. Rumsfeld may be using hamburger helper to extend things

How do we know the support for the troops isn't already contracted out? A five thousand man fighting unit supported by another couple of thousand retired civilian military working for outfits like for Military Professional Resources Inc., Virginia Electronics, DynCorp, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, TRW, and dozens of others would translate to a formidable fighting unit. All it takes is money.

Privatizing war is not only the logical extension of the Bush administration's mania for contracting everything out to the private sector; it also shields the White House's activities from the U.S. Congress making it easier to fly under the radar and avoid accountability.

I understand Rummy is already doing this in South America:

Dark Armies, Secret Bases, and Rummy

by Conn Hallinan


November 24, 2005



It would be easy to make fun of President Bush's recent fiasco at the 4th Summit of the Americas in Mar del Plata, Argentina. His grand plan for a free trade zone reaching from the Artic Circle to Tierra del Fuego was soundly rejected by nations fed up with the economic and social chaos wrought by neoliberalism. At a press conference, South American journalists asked him rude questions about Karl Rove. And the President ended the whole debacle by uttering what may be the most trenchant observation the man has ever made on Latin America: “Wow! Brazil is big!”

But there is nothing amusing about an enormous U.S. base less than 120 miles from the Bolivian border, or the explosive growth of U.S.-financed mercenary armies that are doing everything from training the military in Paraguay and Ecuador to calling in air attacks against guerillas in Colombia. Indeed, it is feeling a little like the run up to the ‘60s and ‘70s, when Washington-sponsored military dictatorships dominated most of the continent, and dark armies ruled the night.

U.S. Special Forces began arriving this past summer at Paraguay's Mariscal Estigarribia air base, a sprawling complex built in 1982 during the reign of dictator Alfredo Stroessner. Argentinean journalists who got a peek at the place say the airfield can handle B-52 bombers and Galaxy C-5 cargo planes. It also has a huge radar system, vast hangers, and can house up to 16,000 troops. The air base is larger than the international airport at the capital city, Asuncion .

Some 500 special forces arrived July 1 for a three-month counterterrorism training exercise, code named Operation Commando Force 6.

<more>

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=HAL20051124&articleId=1322

[cliss]

6. OMG...Hamburger helper indeed.

Armies for rent....I forgot about that aspect.

[Shelor]

5. Starting civil wars seems to be our standard foreign policy