2/24/03
By J. Parnell McCarter
Another tell-tale sign that the US is heading for
destruction is the way it is making enemies out of friends. Indeed, it seems to be an almost deliberate
policy to have this effect. Let’s
consider the case of the current US policy towards the Philippines. The Philippines has long been a close ally
of the US. Yet here is an excerpt from
an article appearing today in USA TODAY (http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2003-02-20-troops-philippines-usat_x.htm):
Posted 2/20/2003 9:27 PM
Updated 2/21/2003 8:48 AM
U.S. troops to join combat
against rebels in Philippines
By Jack Kelley, USA TODAY
Hundreds of U.S.
special operations troops will soon join Philippine soldiers in fighting Abu
Sayyaf rebels in the southern Philippines, Pentagon officials said Thursday.
It will be the first time U.S. troops will be
in combat roles in the Philippines since the Pentagon began advising that
nation's military on counterterrorism tactics last year, the officials said.
The deal marks a major escalation of U.S. military
involvement in the Philippines.
Nearly 350 U.S. special operations troops, mostly
Army Green Berets, will take part in the offensive against the rebels on the
island of Jolo in the Sulu Archipelago. Up to 400 other U.S. troops, based in
the port city of Zamboanga, will support them.
In addition, nearly 1,000 Marines aboard Navy ships
nearby will be ready to respond with air power, logistical help and medical
aid, the officials said.
It was not immediately clear how many Philippine
troops will be involved in the offensive...
Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said
this week that she had approved joint training exercises with U.S. forces on
Jolo, where Abu Sayyaf rebels fled after a U.S.-Philippine effort last year to
root them out. But U.S. officials said the next offensive, which will begin in
March, will go beyond training to include combat operations for U.S. forces…”
This article indicates a discrepancy of view
regarding the US role in the military operations in the Philippines between the
Philippine and US governments. The Philippine government is denying that the US has the right to
conduct such operations, given the constitution of the Philippines forbids such
activities by the US government forces.
The following article states the Philippine government perspective at
the current time (http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/net/2003/02/23/palace.belittles.authority.of.pentagon.official.html):
Sunday, February 23, 2003
Palace belittles authority of Pentagon
official
By Joshua Dancel
MANILA -- Malacañang Saturday denied anew the erroneous
statement of an unnamed Pentagon official regarding combat operations in
southern Philippines involving American troops. Armed Forces officials in Jolo
attempted to allay Muslims fears about the impending deployment of US troops in
the area and their reported participation in combat operation. Presidential
spokesman Ignacio Bunye also belittled the credibility of the unnamed Pentagon
official being quoted by the international news agencies carrying the reported
item. "Like what we said allowing the Americans to fight in Sulu in actual
combat will violate the constitution," Bunye added. We will make it clear
again, all operations here must be under the supervision of the Armed Forces of
the Philippines (AFP) and there will be no aggressive combat role for the
foreign troops," Bunye said. Bunye belittled the authority of this unnamed
Pentagon official, who later turned out to be Col. Jeff Davis, to announce
anything about the Balikatan 03-1 exercises in Mindanao.
"Who is Col. Davis anyway? What authority has he to speak on the
Balikatan?" Bunye told Sun.Star.
However, Bunye said the wrong announcement made by someone who claimed to be a
representative of the Pentagon should not be a reason to disrupt the smooth
relationship the country has with the Pentagon. "There is no need to pick
a fight with Pentagon over this," he said. However, he said should the
international news would keep on harping about the news item he described as
"kuryente," (a local word for announcing a false news) "we will
make a stronger denial."
As such, he said senators and other lawmakers trying to ride on the issue
should stop doing so. "Our legislators should stop riding on the issue
because in the first place this so-called unnamed source has no credibility at
all to speak on the exercises," he said.
This as Senator Aquilino Pimentel continued his tirade against Defense
Secretary Angelo Reyes, blaming him for crafting a joint military exercise that
will allow American soldiers join Philippine forces in combat operations in
Sulu and Zamboanga.
Pimentel, speaking at the Mindanao Summit of Muslim Leaders in Davao city
Saturday, said the forthcoming Balikatan 03-1 is against the Constitution
because foreign troops will participate in actual combat…”
Yet official statements from the US government
indicate the US will proceed with its announced plans to fight (see http://usinfo.state.gov/topical/pol/terror/03022111.htm):
21 February 2003
U.S. and Philippines to conduct joint operations against terror group
Following is the text of a February 21 news article from the American Forces Press Service on U.S.-Philippine operations against the Abu Sayyaf terrorist group:
U.S., Philippines to Operate Against Abu Sayyaf Terrorists
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
Washington, Feb. 21, 2003 -- U.S. and Philippine forces will conduct combined operations against the Abu Sayyaf terrorist group in the Southern Philippines, DoD officials said today.
Philippine and U.S. officials have been discussing the situation for several months, DoD officials said. A high- level U.S. team worked out the final details earlier this month.
About 350 U.S. special operations personnel from the Army, Navy and Air Force will work with Philippine soldiers in the Sulu Archipelago. Another 750 Americans will provide logistics support from the headquarters in Zamboanga on Mindanao Island.
In addition, elements of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, based in Okinawa, Japan, and the USS Essex Amphibious Ready Group will provide additional support if needed. The forces afloat bring quick reaction teams, command and control assets, aviation support and medical support to the effort.
Officials said U.S. assessment
teams are ready to deploy to Jolo Island in the center of the archipelago. The
area is the new center of Abu Sayyaf activity. DoD officials said
"hundreds" of Abu Sayyaf terrorists are in the area. Abu Sayyaf is
linked with Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda terrorist network...
The dispute is already arousing
public disapproval in the Philippines against the US, as reported by USA TODAY
(see http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20030224/4892084s.htm):
By Melissa Howell Alipalo
Special for USA TODAY
MANILA -- The Philippine government said Sunday that U.S. troops will not be allowed to engage in direct combat with Muslim rebels in the southern Philippines.
Philippine National Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes left Sunday for Washington to finalize plans to send 1,750 American troops over the next few weeks to Jolo, a remote, predominantly Muslim island, and the surrounding area.
The nature of the deployment, however, is now being disputed by U.S. and Philippine officials. According to U.S. media reports, the Pentagon wants U.S. troops to help fight the Abu Sayyaf rebels. Washington has linked Abu Sayyaf to the al-Qaeda terrorist network.
But Philippine officials, who are contending with
public opposition to the U.S. military presence, say their constitution
prohibits foreign forces from fighting on Philippine soil. ''The support (the
Americans) will provide to us is training and advisory, and not actual
combat,'' a presidential spokesman said…
As noted at http://ibb7.ibb.gov/newswire/36186e36.html:
U-S and Philippine officials differ over whether there is an agreement to conduct joint anti-terrorist operations in the Philippines starting next month. More from V-O-A Correspondent Alex Belida at the Pentagon. TEXT: Philippine officials have been quick to deny there will be any joint combat operations, saying there will be only U-S military involvement in training and humanitarian projects starting next month.But Pentagon officials are sticking to what they have said previously: There will be a joint effort to disrupt and defeat the Abu Sayyaf Muslim separatist group in the Sulu archipelago in the southern Philippines. These officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, say some 350 U-S Special Operations forces will be inserted into the area to support Philippine soldiers, who will lead the anti-terrorist assault. An additional 400 American military personnel will provide back-up from Zamboanga. A U-S Navy amphibious ready-group with some one-thousand Marines will be stationed offshore, and could join the operation with ground units as well as aviation support. The officials say the U-S forces are likely to start moving into position in the next few days. This marks the first time the Pentagon has acknowledged plans for direct U-S combat participation in an anti-terrorist operation in the Philippines. Last year, U-S forces acted as advisors to Philippine anti-terrorist efforts on Basilan Island. But the American mission was considered part of a training program for Philippine troops. News reports from the Philippines indicate concerns that direct U-S participation in combat could violate provisions of the country's constitution.
The frustration over this issue is
raising tensions further between the two nations. International Herald Tribune led its February 24, 2003 edition
with this item:
Filipinos rally against
possible Iraq war
Protesters burned a makeshift American flag Monday in a demonstration near the
U.S. Embassy in Manila.
AP Photo/Bullit Marquez
In my opinion, this is not a case of foolish US
policy at a time the US desperately needs friends. I think it is far more likely that this is a deliberate effort on
the part of high US government officials working with other nations and the
Vatican to produce a situation where the US government is overthrown by other
nations, as I noted in the Puritan News Weekly article at http://www.puritans.net/news/stage020503.htm
. Such a wicked conspiracy would
fulfill prophecies in Psalm 2:2-3 and Revelation
17:16.