What is the game in the Philippines?

What is the game in the Philippines?
The seizure of Marawi by the ISIS created a new situation in the Philippines' relation with the Americans. When Duterte came into office, he wanted the Americans out, including the American Special Forces. The Americans begged to stay on the excuse that they were there to help the Philippines tackle the insurgency problems in the South. Duterte reluctantly agreed with pressure from the Philippines military that were beholden to the Americans and wanted the Americans to stay.



The Special Forces have been in the Philippines for many years and it is not sure what value have they added to the Philippines, what have they helped to quell the insurgencies and the rise of ISIS. Some were questioning whether the Special Forces were there to help and support the growth of ISIS and other insurgents in southern Philippines. For after being there and presumably working very hard for the interest of the Philippines, the ISIS and the insurgents continued to grow in strength. Did the Special Forces know of the ISIS plan before the capture of Marawi or they were sleeping or worst, have a role in the uprising.


What have the Philippines benefited from the presence of the American Special Forces? Apparently none. The 'call by the Philippines govt for assistance from the Special Forces' could be one way Duterte is telling the Americans, you are here, get to work and show us what you can do and prove how useful the Americans can be. There is no point in having the Special Forces sitting in the Philippines doing nothing or doing things that were against the Philippines. It is pay back time for the Americans to prove their worth. Can't imagine that they have done sweet fuck all during all these years in the Philippines.


Another view on the situation in Marawi is that it has to happen to justify the presence of the Americans. Now the Philippines, being so useless even against an insurgency, would now be more reliance on the Americans. The Americans now have a good reason to be in the Philippines, maybe to send in more troops to fight the ISIS exactly in the same formula as in Iraq and Syria. Someone could have started this ISIS attack and who stands to benefit from the fighting in Marawi? No need to guess.


Some quarters are gloating that it is the Americans that are coming to the aid of the Philippines ad not China or Russia. With the Americans present on the ground and working on the ground for so many years, why would Duterte want to call on China or the Russians to send troops there? Would it not only be logical for the Americans, presumably knowing the ground and fighting the ISIS and the insurgents as their sole reason to be there to be called to perform?


Calling the Russians or the Chinese to fight the ISIS and with the Americans hiding in the background can be a treacherous proposition. They would have to watch their backs very carefully and for every move they make. Very likely Duterte would like to see if the Americans are real in what they claimed to be doing. They could repeat the whole story of fighting an unending insurgency war to justify their presence in the Philippines forever like in Iraq and Syria until the Russians came in to turn the table against the ISIS. The Americans are pretending that they are now fighting the ISIS with some successes that they failed to claim in the past.


Let's see if history repeats itself and the Americans would take the opportunity to want to send in more and more troops to turn the Philippines into another Syria or Iraq and be forever at the mercy of the Americans, and eventually Duterte has to call in the Russians to wipe the ISIS off the face of Filipino soil. Duterte still has the Russian and China cards to play and would be watching the Americans like a hawk.

Now the latest news on the situation in the Philippines in the front page of the media. Duterte denied calling for American assistance. What does this mean? Duterte said he only heard about it after the Americans arrived. It is pretty clear that the Americans have passed on another piece of fake news, telling the world that they were asked to be in the Philippines but in fact no such things happened. But based on the fake news they fabricated, they moved in their troops into Filipino soil without permission.

The intention of the Americans is very clear. They want their troops to be in the Philippines and the causes of the fighting in Marawi becomes clearer, more like another cooked situation to facilitate the presence of the Americans that are claiming that their military cooperation agreement allowed them to intervene in Filipino internal affairs at will, even without Filipino permission.

A nationalist group in Mindanao has criticized the Americans' intervention. 'We oppose US meddling and intervention in the Marawi crisis.' Duterte would now have an American problem in hand, how to ask the Americans to leave Filipino soil and what if they refused to leave? This sneaky American military entry into the Philippines is all aimed at Duterte and he better be very careful of a regime change, a military coup as there are elements in the Philippines military that are pro American and beholden to the Americans.

Now you are witnesses to a fake American news fabricated right before your eyes to allow Americans to enter a sovereign country without its permission. Duterte has no reason to ask the Americans for help and would not have done so.