The usual breathless media reports have emerged from the Philippines latest security crisis in regards to American Special Operations units present in the area. To be sure, the siege of Marawi has spun into a serious attack which bares some resemblance to the 2013 siege of Zamboanga. Philippine SOF units such as the Light Reaction Regiment have been deployed to Marawi as have entire brigades of Marines. The numbers of enemy fighters, and the intensity of the fighting, turned out to be much greater than initial reports made it seem. That said, bogus fake news from burned out leftists have stated that the CIA is somehow behind the Marawi siege which of course is a laughable claim that we don’t have enough Reynolds Wrap to address here.
Meanwhile, other outlets who should know better like Reuters have reported that US Special Forces soldiers are advising in Marawi as if it is a new development. Other outlets quickly picked up this claim as if it was some shocking piece of breaking news. The reality is that this is nothing new at all but rather a continuation of America’s commitment to the Philippines and a pre-existing strong relationship between each country’s military. This relationship is far stronger than any isolationist rhetoric that may come from President Trump or President Duterte. For decades Philippine soldiers have been attending American military schools such as Ranger School, BUD/S, West Point, and the Command and General Staff School. The US military and the Armed Forces of the Philippines also participate in the annual Balikatan exercise.
Retired US Special Forces Colonel Dave Maxwell explained the deep historical relationship between our countries militaries in his white paper about Operation Enduring Freedom-Philippines (OEF-P):
The U.S. has a “special relationship” with the Philippines that influences how U.S. and Philippine security forces work together. First, the Philippines was the only U.S. colony. Second, the U.S. previously fought and assisted in two previous insurgencies with General Pershing leading the counterinsurgency against the Moros following the Spanish-American War to Edward Lansdale advising and assisting Ramon Magsaysay during the Huk Rebellion following World War II after the Philippines gained independence. Third, the U.S. and Philippine regular and irregular forces fought a bloody struggle against the Japanese occupation in World War II until liberation in 1944-45. Fourth, the Philippines is the U.S.’ longest standing treaty ally.
Read the rest on SOFREP.com.