This story
was taken from Bulatlat, the Philippines's alternative weekly
newsmagazine (www.bulatlat.com, www.bulatlat.net, www.bulatlat.org).
Vol. VII, No. 5, March 4-10, 2007
U.S. Troops’ Presence in Sulu:
Civic Work or Combat Participation? U.S.
troops have maintained a continuous presence in Sulu since 2004. Malacañang says
they are there for “civic action.” However, their visibility in areas where AFP
operations have been conducted raises questions on the real reasons behind their
presence in the country’s southernmost province. BY
ALEXANDER MARTIN REMOLLINO When an encounter between
the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Moro National Liberation Front
(MNLF) broke out in Barangay (Village) Buansa, Indanan, Sulu last week, U.S.
troops who were a few kilometers away were seen running toward the direction of
the gunfire. They were carrying their guns. The fighting ensued after
AFP troops attacked the camp of MNLF state chairman Khaid Ajibun in the said
village. Military spokespersons said
the attack was brought about by reports that members of the bandit Abu Sayyaf
group (ASG) were in the MNLF camp. The MNLF – with which the Government of the
Republic of the Philippines (GRP) signed a Final Peace Agreement in 1996 – has
repeatedly denied that it coddles ASG members. In Brgy. Bato-Bato, also in
Indanan, U.S. troops are presently busy with a road-construction project. That
village is right now the center of AFP operations in Sulu, with an encounter
having taken place only last March 2. These were gathered by
Bulatlat in an interview with Jolo Councilor Temojen “Cocoy” Tulawie. This, Tulawie said, is just
part of a larger picture that has been developing in Sulu since 2004.
“Military operations always
take place not far from where U.S. troops are,” said Tulawie, who is also a
convener of the Concerned Citizens of Sulu. “The presence of U.S. troops has
been visible in areas where military operations have taken place.” While Tulawie says there is
yet no evidence that U.S. troops have actually participated in combat
operations, their visibility in areas where AFP operations have been conducted
raises questions on the real reasons behind their presence in the country’s
southernmost province. Making entry Tulawie said the presence
of U.S. troops in Sulu started in 2004 and has been continuous since then. The Jolo councilor said
that in one of his recent travels, he saw that several U.S. soldiers were among
the passengers in the Sulu-bound plane from Manila. “I talked to the guards in
the airport here and they told me that U.S. soldiers arrive everyday,” Tulawie
disclosed. “They come usually in the wee hours of the morning, just after
midnight.” U.S. troops would have
entered Sulu as early as February 2003. The AFP and the U.S. Armed Forces had
both announced that the Balikatan military exercises for that year would be held
in Sulu. This provoked a wave of
protest from the people of Sulu, who had not yet forgotten what has come to be
known as the Bud Dajo Massacre. The Bud Dajo massacre,
which took place in 1906, is described in some history texts as the “First
Battle of Bud Dajo.” It was an operation against Moro fighters resisting the
American occupation. The description of the
incident as a “battle,” however, is disputed considering the sheer mismatch in
firepower between U.S. forces and the Moro resistance fighters. The 790 U.S.
troops who assaulted Bud Dajo used naval cannons against the 800-1,000 Moro
resistance fighters who were mostly armed only with melee weapons. In the end, only six of the
hundreds of Moro resistance fighters holding Bud Dajo as a stronghold survived,
while there were 15-20 casualties among the U.S. troops. The announcement in
February 2003 that the year’s Balikatan military exercises would be held in Sulu
summoned bitter memories of the Bud Dajo Massacre and led to protest actions
where thousands of Sulu residents participated. “The situation was very tense
here at that time,” Tulawie told Bulatlat. The next year, however,
U.S. troops came up with ingenious ways to find their way into Sulu. “They started coming in
small groups, bringing relief goods,” Tulawie said. “They concentrated on
winning the hearts and minds of the people of Sulu.” “Their strategy was
effective,” Tulawie also admitted. “They have to some extent been able to
neutralize the Sulu people’s resistance to their presence here.” It is unclear how many U.S.
troops there are in Sulu right now, Tulawie said. “They don’t tell us how many
of them are here,” he pointed out. Civil-military
operations The U.S. troops in Sulu are
part of the Joint Special Operations Task Force-Philippines (JSOTF-P). Based on
several news items from the Philippine Information Agency (PIA), the JSOTF-P are
in Sulu to train the AFP’s Southern Command (Southcom) and to conduct civic
actions. However, an article
recently written by Command Sgt. Maj. William Eckert of the JSOTF-P, “Defeating
the Idea: Unconventional Warfare in Southern Philippines,” hints that there is
more to the task force’s work than training AFP troops and embarking on
“humanitarian actions.” Wrote Eckert:
Working in close coordination with the U.S. Embassy, JSOTF-P uses Special
Forces, Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations forces to conduct deliberate
intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance in very focused areas, and based
on collection plans, to perform tasks to prepare the environment and obtain
critical information requirements. The information is used to determine the
capabilities, intentions and activities of threat groups that exist within the
local population and to focus U.S. forces – and the AFP – on providing security
to the local populace. It is truly a joint operation, in which Navy SEALs and
SOF aviators work with their AFP counterparts to enhance the AFP’s capacities. “There are U.S. troops
stationed in all military camps in Sulu,” Tulawie added. “If they are here only
to give training, as they and the Philippine government claim, there should be
only a single training camp where they are to be stationed. But what is
happening is different.” Bulatlat © 2007 Bulatlat
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