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Thread: Communist Insurgency in the Philippines (catch all)

  1. #41
    Council Member Dayuhan's Avatar
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    A few times in the past I've made the point that the most important security-related challenge facing the Philippine Government is not confronting the NPA, the MILF, or the Abu Sayyaf, but cleaning up its own security services. This little vignette illustrates why:

    http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/336805/...uthern-tagalog

    This story broke a few days ago: a van and an SUV were stopped at a checkpoint and fired on police and military operatives; all 13 occupants of the vehicles were killed on the spot (no wounded, no survivors, nobody taken to a hospital). The dead were immediately described as members of a criminal syndicate.

    Then it got more complicated: it turned out that among the dead were 3 policemen, one of them a Superintendent (equivalent to a military Colonel), and either 1 or 3 military personnel (one confirmed, 2 others may or may not have been carrying false ID).

    The complications are escalating: it's now claimed that the people killed were members and protectors of a major illegal gambling syndicate, and that the people at the checkpoint were associated with a rival syndicate. There's also talk that a large amount of cash was being transported in the vans, though none was reported recovered.

    Perhaps significantly, there's very little public surprise at all this: it's simply accepted, all over the country, that virtually every kind of organized crime in the Philippines operates with some degree of official collusion. It's well known, for example, that criminals, rebels, and terrorists typically acquire their arms and ammunition by buying them from the police... yet how many military and police officers have ever been prosecuted for disappearance of arms and ammunition?

    This to me raises some questions about US aid to and cooperation with the Philippine security services... we talk about "capacity building", but what capacity are we talking about? Not saying that every apple in the barrel is rotten, but until the ones that aren't rotten stop looking the other way and and take action against the one that are, I can't see how progress is going to be made.
    “The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary”

    H.L. Mencken

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    Posted by Dayuhan

    This to me raises some questions about US aid to and cooperation with the Philippine security services... we talk about "capacity building", but what capacity are we talking about? Not saying that every apple in the barrel is rotten, but until the ones that aren't rotten stop looking the other way and and take action against the one that are, I can't see how progress is going to be made.
    This is a point several have made, especially Bob's World. In many cases our assistance, both training and financial aid, simply reinforces bad behavior, but if our goal is retain access and influence then maybe we get what we actually want (realpolitik), then progress is made? If we want to actually address corruption I suspect we would have to step back and completely re-evaluate how we provide assistance.

  3. #43
    Council Member Dayuhan's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bill Moore View Post
    if our goal is retain access and influence then maybe we get what we actually want (realpolitik), then progress is made?
    Sometimes I wonder if we have a clear idea of what we want
    “The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary”

    H.L. Mencken

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    Default The Leadership Crisis in the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army

    Last edited by davidbfpo; 02-13-2013 at 05:35 PM.

  5. #45
    Council Member Dayuhan's Avatar
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    Default CPP/NPA Leaders Arrested

    http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/588186/...aders-captured

    Benito Tiamzon, the head of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing, the New People’s Army (NPA), and six other members of the CPP central committee were arrested on Saturday in Carcar City, south of Cebu City.
    That's pretty much the entire core leadership taken in one operation.

    It will be interesting to see what impact this has on the ongoing conflict. I would expect an acceleration of the existing trend toward decentralization, with NPA units in different regions operating autonomously. There may also be some conflict over filling those spaces: there will still be national leadership, though it may be increasingly nominal.

    Overall, though, I have to hold to my view that a long term solution to Communist insurgency has to match a focus on degrading the insurgents with a focus on bringing the rural oligarchs who nurture insurgency within the rule of law.
    “The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary”

    H.L. Mencken

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    Council Member Dayuhan's Avatar
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    This story broke today:

    http://www.interaksyon.com/article/8...s-now-with-npa

    The Philippine National Police’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Group said Thursday it is set to file criminal and administrative charges against five senior police officers over the disappearance of more than a thousand assault rifles, most of which reportedly have ended up in the hands of communist rebels in Mindanao...

    ... The officers reportedly approved the sale by importer Twin Pines Inc. of 1,004 M16 and AK-47 rifles, as well as gun parts, ammunition and accessories, to JTC Mineral Mining Corp. in the Caraga region.

    The weapons were supposedly to be used by the mining firm’s security force.

    However, a nationwide gun check last year discovered that the weapons were missing from JTC’s inventory and had supposedly been delivered to the New People’s Army.
    This sort of thing has gone on a long time, but this is the first time I can recall actual charges being filed. If they are actually prosecuted, let along convicted, it will be quite unprecedented. I wonder if it's true that, as the article claims, Presidential intervention was required to actually get an investigation...
    Last edited by Dayuhan; 06-05-2014 at 11:07 AM.
    “The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary”

    H.L. Mencken

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