In many ways the battle for Marawi has been a curious event which has seen bandits belonging to the allegedly ISIS affiliated Maute Group attacking a Muslim city in order to raise their public profile and demonstrate their power to the Philippine government. Philippine SOF units and Marines worked hard to cordon the enemy into a small neighborhood and have been closing the net to finish them off. In the background of the conflict, US Special Operations soldiers have provided ISR support and enabled near real-time intelligence information to be provided to the Philippine forces. Marawi has even led to some hand wringing from American journalists like Nick Turse who would like to use the siege as a case study for why US Special Operations has failed in the Philippines. This is quite a conclusion to jump to as many parties seek to overlay their agenda on unfolding events.
What has largely been lost in the conversation about Marawi from an American perspective is how Leahy vetting is preventing us from supporting the Philippine Armed Forces. The Leahy Law is the term commonly used in reference to the Foreign Assistance Act which prevents the United States from providing arms or military support to countries, militaries, and even individuals who are involved in human rights abuses. Leahy vetting often has to take place before US Special Forces soldiers are able to work with host-nation partner forces. For example, US Special Forces were not able to work with the Nigerian Army for many years in the fight against Boko Haram because the local units had a reputation for executing prisoners and other abuses. The Leahy Law is in many ways a reaction to past abuses (real or perceived) by right-wing groups in Central America that received US support against the communists in the 1980s.
Interestingly, the CIA does not seem to be hampered by the Leahy Law the way DOD is. In Jordan, US Special Forces have conducted vetting interviews with militia members and turned up disturbing evidence that they are jihadis. When that information is turned over to the CIA who are running the overall covert operation, those who report it are told not to worry about it. Authorization to provide dubious Islamists with weapons and military training is soon given, perhaps due to a confluence of agendas between the CIA, White House, and Department of Justice.
(US Special Forces and the Philippine Light Reaction Regiment gear up for a HALO jump. Courtesy of DVIDS)