History lessons from the 'splendid little war'

[oldtime dfl_er]

Sorry if this is a repost, the "search" function seems wonky today. This is an interesting article from the Observer:

History lessons from the 'splendid little war'


Daniel Whitaker
Sunday December 17, 2006
The Observer

The US is embroiled in an ill-considered occupation of a distant land; an initial welcome turned to violence amid human rights violations; it will be many years before extrication is possible. Not Iraq today, but the Philippines a century ago, an eerie parallel which might have provided valuable lessons.

The US took the Philippines in 1899 - part of what its then Secretary of State, John Hay, called 'a splendid little war'. The previous regime (in this case, Spanish-run) was quickly vanquished, with the shock and awe of superior weaponry. War had begun over American claims that a weapon of medium-sized destruction was used by the Spanish to destroy the USS Maine in Havana harbour, an accusation later considered dubious.

Continued here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,1973819,00.html