U.S. MILITARY FORCES: NEGOTIATED SUBSERVIENCE BY AN ILLEGITIMATE GOVERNMENT

By Prof. Roland G. Simbulan
Senior Fellow, Center for People's Empowerment in Governance

(The author was recently the guest speaker of the launching of the 'U.S. Troops OUT NOW! Coalition in Mindanao' held in Cagayan de Oro City, Valencia in Bukidnon, Cagayan de Oro City, Davao City and Cotabato City this February 2008. The launching has been convened by InPeace Mindanao and other groups.)

The nation is seething in volcanic outrage at the revelations of the whistleblower Mr. Rodolfo Lozada who has shaken the nation and once again exposed the illegitimate occupier in Malacanang as an "evil" mafioso. This mafioso is responsible for more than 800 extrajudicial killings and disappearances since 2001. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's de facto government has not only negotiated loan contracts with foreign vested interests which have squandered our people's taxes to big time corruption. It has also negotiated subservience to U.S. military forces which are now seen moving around in practically any part of the country, to engage in counterinsurgency and other unspecified "activities" especially in the second largest island, Mindanao.

Big time corruption by the Mafioso in Malacanang in a series of unexplained negotiated contracts with foreign powers have squandered the people's money, and as a consequence, little is left for basic social services for our far-flung communities. It is ironic that, especially in the island of Mindanao, U.S. Special Operations Forces with a sinister agenda, have been invited by the illegal regime to do active "humanitarian work" in the form of medical, dental and other social services, including infrastructure projects in many remote communities, services which should be the function of a government, even if it is just a de facto one.

The outrage over the negotiated sell-out and subservience to foreign military forces has widened and deepened among various sectors in Mindanao, raising the awareness even of local officials. This comes as a Philippine Army unit operating in Sulu which was advised and accompanied by several U.S. Special Operations Forces, reportedly massacred eight Moro civilians (men, women, and children) in what the armed forces described as "collateral damage" in an encounter with the Abu Sayyaf. It also comes at a time when another 14-year-old schoolgirl was raped by a U.S. Marine in the island of Okinawa where 75 percent of U.S. military forces in Japan are deployed. Many of the U.S. Marines from the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force in Okinawa are the ones who participate regularly in the year-round joint Balikatan exercises in the Philippines. In fact, the U.S. Marines charged and later convicted for the rape of "Nicole" at Subic in 2005 where one was convicted by the Makati Regional Trial Court, were based in Okinawa, Japan.

Resumption of Balikatan exercises

The resumption of the large-scale Balikatan exercises comes after they were suspended during the past two years because of the Subic rape case, where a U.S. Marine was convicted of rape. However, the suspension of the Balikatan exercise was lifted, when Malacanang officials, with the connivance of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) abducted the convicted U.S. soldier from the Philippine judicial system's custody and handed him over to the U.S. Embassy. The brazenness of this abduction by the Mafioso in Malacanang may appear all too familiar from the way whistleblower Mr. Rodolfo Lozada was abducted from the Manila International Airport by a group of government operatives to prevent him from testifying from the Senate hearings. The resumption of the large-scale Balikatan in 2008 is supposed to be the reward given to us by the U.S. government for the Mafioso's surrender of our custody and sovereignty of the convicted U.S. Marine rapist to them. 6,000 U.S. troops are expected to participate in this year's Balikatan exercises, with the Balance Piston 08 affecting many parts of Luzon and in Mindanao where the areas included for penetration by U.S. troops through "humanitarian work" are municipalities in Cagayan de Oro City, Bukidnon, and Lanao provinces. Meanwhile, all year round, a detachment of what a high-ranking Pentagon official described as U.S. Special Operations Forces "a little less than 1,000 " have set up and constructed military facilities in Zamboanga City, Basilan and Sulu.

All over the island of Mindanao in the past two weeks, posters (“U.S. TROOPS OUT NOW!,” “JUNK THE VISITING FORCES AGREEMENT!”) have proliferated in major cities, towns and highways demanding the removal of U.S. military forces which have been invited by the illegal Arroyo regime to engage in counterinsurgency/counter-terrorist operations through surveillance and spying , joint operations training, support and advice, other forms of "activities" which are unspecified under the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA). The VFA in fact, does not only allow uniformed U.S. military personnel, but also "civilian personnel who are employed by the U.S. armed forces or who are accompanying the U.S. armed forces..." (Art I. Sec. 2, VFA Definitions)

No less than the Regional Legislative Assembly, the highest policy-making body of the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao(ARMM) has issued Resolution No. 353 on Feb. 5, 2008 "Expressing the objection of the Regional Assembly to the Holding of Balikatan Whether Military, Medical or Civilian Exercises in the Province of Lanao del Sur and the Islamic City of Marawi." Earlier, the governor of the province of Lanao del Sur expressed opposition to the planned Balikatan exercises.

The City Council (Sangguniang Panlungsod) of the Islamic City of Marawi in Lanao del Sur in Resolution No. 112, Series of 2008 dated Jan. 28, 2008, "Resolution Urging Her Excellency Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, President of the Republic of the Philippines, to Refrain the Balikatan Exercise in the Islamic City of Marawi." The Marawi City Council Resolution stated that, "Whereas, pre-empting of effect of the U.S. Military Exercises in the territory of the Muslims will ignite their feelings, as well as the non-Muslims for the enhancement of gambling, entail of prostitutions, alcoholism which are totally prohibited in the entire province of Lanao del Sur and the Islamic City of Marawi." It said that the "peaceloving people of the Islamic City of Marawi as well as the Province of Lanao del Sur absolutely oppose/ object to the Balikatan Exercises of the U.S. Military Forces...." Several Municipal Councils in Lanao del Sur such as the Municipality of Ditsa-an Ramain have likewise passed official resolutions (dated January 30, 2008) prohibiting Balikatan exercises and U.S. military forces from their territories. Many local officials, uztads and prominent personalities among the Moro people have led protest rallies against the intrusion of U.S. military forces into their communities. .

U.S. troops-free city

Davao City since 2003 has officially declared itself as free from U.S. Special Operations Forces and Balikatan exercises. No less than Davao City mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte has banned U.S. military personnel and Balikatan exercises from the city.

The Sisters' Association of Mindanao (SAMIN) and the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, Philippine Province, have issued statements against Balikatan exercises in Mindanao, where 25 military exercises have been launched since 2002. In their statement dated Feb.14 2008, SAMIN asked, "Will U.S. troops participate in actual military operations against our people as they did in other places? Will there be another Nicole, and will our women and children again be made 'objects' for the U.S. soldiers' rest and recreation?"
In the Lanao provinces, the broad multi-sectoral Ranao Crescent Against Balikatan Exercises (RACABE) has been formed and has spearheaded protest actions against the intrusions by U.S. personnel into their community. In their statement, RACABE emphasized that "the presence of U.S. troops in Lanao will be a serious threat to the ongoing peace process in Mindanao since the U.S. troops ...help organize counterinsurgency groups.... On the one hand, it will awaken painful memories of the past American invasions of the Ranao areas such as the massacres in Padang Karbala of Bayang, Lanao del Sur (during the first decade of the 20th century) that almost wiped out all the able-bodied men in the said municipality except for seven who were either minors or infirm, in Tugaya, Lanao del Sur and Pantar, Lanao del Norte that may trigger violent retaliatory actions against U.S. troops."

U.S. troops are back, we are told, "to train, to assist and to advise Philippine counterparts in anti-terror operations" and "to increase their interoperability, that is, working together with their Philippine counterparts". The VFA Commission and Fil-Am officers in the U.S. Army who have been assigned to be their spokespersons, tell us that U.S. soldiers are here "not to fight, but to train, to conduct humanitarian missions." But since 2002, the mafioso in Malacanang has practically invited the U.S. military forces to intervene through unspecified "activities" in Batanes, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, Aurora, Pampanga, Zambales, Cebu, Palanan, Zamboanga del Sur, Lanao del Sur, North Cotabato, South Cotabato, Basilan, Sulu, Cavite, Albay, & Camarines Sur.

AFP acting as security guards to U.S. forces and facilities

Weeks ago, there was an interesting news item about the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police doing the work of security guards to certain mining companies in Zambales. But since 2001, the AFP has been acting like security guards to the visiting U.S. forces in the Philippines, including the Joint Special Operations Task Force - Philippines (JSOTF-P) that is now based in Camp Navarro at the Southern Command Headquarters in Zamboanga. Other U.S. Special Forces facilities are now positioned inside Philippine army camps in Camp Malagutay, Zamboanga; in Basilan, Sulu, General Santos City and in Cotabato, among many locations. The repositioning of small U.S. military facilities inside a host country's army or military camps is a novel idea to hide these facilities from public view and to make it appear that there are no "U.S. operating bases" in the country. Herbert Docena, in two recent excellent studies titled, “Unconventional warfare”, and “At the door of the East” (The Philippines in U.S. Military Strategy) states that U.S.government documents now describe these "U.S. operating bases" here as "Cooperative Security Locations (CLS)" which are described as military installations already been established in the Philippines. The U.S. Overseas Basing Commission, an official U.S. government agency that reviews U.S. overseas military infrastructure in fact considers these installations as "U.S. forward operating bases".

Spying and "activities" by U.S. military and civilian personnel

U.S. Special Operations Forces (SOFs) in uniform and in civilian clothes have also been seen in actual war zones in Mindanao and other parts of the country. P-3C Orion surveillance planes have been sited in many parts of ARMM and in certain Mindanao provinces, as well as the use of the RQ-1 Predator, the unmanned spyplane. On Oct. 3, 2005, workers of Puregold Duty Free Shop at Clark found a crashed unmanned spy plane on their roof. The unmanned spy plane had a sticker marked, "104 Pointer Spy Plane" and was equipped with camera, recording devices and other sophisticated equipment.

U.S. SOFs who are trained for low intensity warfare operations, are involved in what is referred to as “asymmetrical warfare” in our communities they are trying to infiltrate. They combine public relations, intelligence gathering, civic action, road/infrastructure projects, psychological operations and counter-insurgency to destroy the people's movements at the grassroots which is struggling for land, ancestral domain and social justice. These "activities" are under the guise of being part of the "war on terror".


Why then, are U. S. military forces in Mindanao?

Using infrastructure projects in the Philippines for U.S. military force projection and intervention
On the other hand, the engineering and construction projects, airfields and wharfs (daungan) structurally designed and with specifications for large vessels being poured by the USAID's Mindanao Assistance Program and GEM program such as the ones in Saranggani Bay, are meant to provide support for and accommodate the large U.S. naval vessels and combat aircraft for operations here and abroad. The communities are "softened" with GEM projects of USAID to be penetrated for the access of U.S. troops. The Philippines is once again a springboard for intervention by U.S. military forces especially the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Forces based in Okinawa, Japan. The Marine Expeditionary Forces are the mainstay of U.S. intervention forces and they are now also regularly trained here during the so-called Balikatan exercises. And of course under the VFA and MLSA, the Philippines has been made once again into a communications, surveillance, training and most important, logistical supply base for U.S. intervention forces against our neighbors.

We have experienced the impact of U.S. military presence and bases before - the loss of self-determination, human rights and sovereignty, as well as the degradation of culture, values, health and environmental destruction as a host nation. Our women and children will surely be sacrificed for the "rest and recreational" needs of foreign soldiers wanting to boost their morale. And only a few domestic elites who are subcontracted by the U.S. military actually benefit from the much vaunted economic benefits, for they are the ones owning if not controlling the base-related businesses. For the U.S., their military presence here allows them to wage illegal wars and military interventions (locally and against other nations) to advance their corporate and strategic interests especially in Mindanao.


The challenges and what is to be done?

In the face of the rabid attempts by the Mafioso in Malacanang to restore a permanent foreign military presence, let us therefore prepare for the following challenges: