Go to the link and enjoy the photos.
After one week of close access to some key players in this conflict, I can make one certain statement: This is a complex war. As for the complexity of the human terrain, the Philippines is the "Afghanistan of the Sea." There are great differences, of course. The Republic of the Philippines is a functioning democracy with a professional military and it's not bordering Pakistan and Iran, yet the human terrain here is far more complex than that of Iraq or even Afghanistan. Physical terrain shapes human terrain. Afghanistan has deserts, mountains and valleys, while this place has the sea, thousands of islands, and mountains and valleys. Physical barriers create separate languages and cultures.
So far, I've been to three islands and met with dozens of Filipino and U.S. commanders and troops. We've visited villages and gone deep into enemy territory on two islands. Though I've seen no combat here -- or even any signs of combat other than one IED hole and a blown-up bridge -- pitched battles are unfolding on a regular basis. Some writers have come for short embeds and made large-picture summaries of the situation, but the reality is that it would take many months of hard study and travel just to get a reasonable feel for the war.
Serious battles involving artillery and aerial bombings continue to rumble on some islands, such as Mindanao, but Civil Military operations are gaining successes that cannons and jets have failed to deliver. For instance, on 20 April 2009, 34 members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) surrendered to the Armed Forces Philippines (AFP), not because they were beaten in battle, but because Civil Affairs teams and others lured them out of the jungles with offers of peaceful and more prosperous lives. The story of this war is probably more about Civil Affairs and deal-making than combat. With that in mind, a series of short dispatches with photos and initial impressions will follow. It would be most helpful to see veterans of this war, and the Philippines in general, weigh in with their own impressions.
The following are just a handful of photos from one mission. These images were made in what had been deep enemy territory just a few months ago. The kids never begged for candy, never were brats in any way -- which happens in Iraq (especially when our troops act like Santa Claus and pass out candy, making perfectly sweet kids into incredible brats). Despite the fact that their fathers had been enemies, the village kids grinned whenever our folks looked their way. The guerrilla leader actually seemed to like the Americans and it showed in the kids. Their fathers and mothers were all around.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
