Combat Joe
The other day, an Agence France-Presse journalist photographed American soldiers spearheading a convoy of Philippine Marines in Sulu. The accompanying story suggested the controversial context in its very first sentence: “Heavily armed US Special Forces troops were seen leading a military convoy Tuesday in Indanan town, Sulu, where security forces are fighting Muslim insurgents.”The story went on to say: “The American troops were part of a convoy of Philippine Marines hunting members of the Abu Sayyaf.”
The day after, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) issued a series of statements that, in effect, contradicted the evidence of the photographs.
“I was informed that the reason for the mission of the [American] troops is that they are going to conduct site survey in areas where there will be humanitarian assistance and Balikatan activities,” AFP spokesman Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro told reporters.
Bacarro should tell that to the Marines, as the saying goes. The idea that American troops would conduct, in the middle of a major military offensive, a “site survey” for military exercises to be conducted next year is preposterous. The fighting in parts of Sulu is for real; would these American troops put themselves in harm’s way simply to scout for locations for war games that are still several months away?
Bacarro’s explanation lacks the very plausibility that will allow the public to suspend its disbelief. (Note that even he had distanced himself from the explanation, portraying himself as merely the recipient of information: “I was informed that ...”)
It is precisely because of these lame excuses that the AFP’s official denials do not carry much weight. More than at any other time since 1986, the AFP top brass today seems to want to manage all information coming out of its camps.
Sought for comment, a spokesman of the US Embassy in Manila had a slightly more plausible, because more generic, clarification. American troops in Sulu were “not involved in any combat roles,” the spokesman said, but they will “fire back if fired upon.”
“Our role is to advise and assist the Philippine military. This is the main focus of our anti-terror campaign,” he added.
But the notion that these highly trained American troops were not actually going into battle, that they are prevented from doing anything except to “fire back if fired upon,” is not a reassurance -- not if they are deliberately thrust into situations where they will be fired upon.
In Camp Aguinaldo the following day, Bacarro described the limits of US military involvement: “technical intelligence, training for soldiers and civil-military-related activities.”
Yes, but what were those heavily armed GIs doing at the head of a convoy in Sulu, in the middle of a major campaign?
In all likelihood, the real answer is: The war on terror has allowed the Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo administration, the AFP leadership, and military units from the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia to get away with many sins of omission and commission. The three countries at the forefront of the war on terror maintain intelligence units in parts of Mindanao, in those areas where the deadly Jemaah Islamiyah has been known to operate -- the last two without benefit of a visiting forces agreement. The United States itself, through the cover of the Joint Special Operations Task Force, has been able to do much more than its limited role implies. Case in point: The US troops sighted on Tuesday belonged to the Task Force which oversees the conduct of military exercises involving Philippine and American troops in the country.
War games in the middle of a war? Tell that to the Marines.
