Sustaining the Culture of Violence Through Wars

Sustaining the Culture of Violence Through Wars

By Erick San Juan

“Conditions today are the most perilous in world history. Global war is possible. The threat is real and ominous. Open discussion is suppressed. Media scoundrels won't touch it.” (Four More Years of War by Stephen Lendman)

Yes, no matter how we like to celebrate the coming New Year with so much fun and full of hope with our family, the glooming scenario of an impending war is inevitable. As much as we don’t want to be the messenger of gloom and doom, we just have to help the present government to be wary and read the writings on the wall as it kowtow (unfortunately) to a perceived master in the process.

In the article of Lendman, the warning of then US President Dwight Eisenhower was  mentioned regarding the military-industrial-Complex, to quote, “In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.” (Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1961 Speech)

According to Lendman the warning of Eisenhower was ignored and the military-industrial-complex (M-I-C) did prevail and persisted up to the present US leadership.

"Every gun that is made, every war ship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, from those who are cold and not clothed.

Today's legacy is force-fed austerity. Health and public welfare are sacrificed on the altar of America's addiction. Obama has plenty more in mind. Wars of choice are planned.

Since WW II, none of necessity existed. America is masterful at inventing enemies when none exist. No matter how many times people are fooled, they're easy prey to convince alleged threats must be challenged.” (Ibid)

There seems to be no end to the existing culture of violence that was highlighted after 9-11 which guise as the war on terror, started by Bush and being continued up to this very day by the Obama second term presidency. It’s very clear to the recently approved (by the US Senate) 2013 budget that has allotted $633 billion for US defense. Every year the federal budget has been allotting 58 percent for its military and/or defense expenditures, both domestic and abroad.

As what Valentin Zorin (a political observer) wrote “The country’s state debt is growing at a fast rate. And judging by the newly approved 2013 budget, Washington has no intention of ending the arms race. At present, the US military expenditure exceeds combined military spending of all other countries.

Experts attribute the current difficulties experienced by the US economy to the fact that it cracked under the burden of military spending, which proved too heavy for it, if not outright intolerable. According to the US Treasury Department, the unprecedented $17 trillion debt will increase to $19 trillion in the foreseeable future and exceed 100% of the country’s current GDP. On top of that, Boston University Professor Laurence Kotlikoff has established that the US budget deficit is larger than the officially reported amounting to a whopping $200 trillion.”

In order to sustain the big business in the M-I-C, war is a necessity and an outside enemy is needed to justify the huge spending.

Just like what retired United States Marine Corps Major General and two time Medal of Honor recipient Smedley D. Butler wrote in his speech and in his booklet – War Is A Racket that “he frankly discusses from his experience as a career military officer how business interests commercially benefit from warfare.”

Being run by racketeers profiting from war materials – “the military-industrial complex has turned the arms race into an endless source of profit for weapon manufacturers and dictate policies to those in power. All hopes and election pledges on the part of aspiring politicians drown in this strive for profit who gains the upper hand defying people’s interests and the requirements of the common sense.” (Prof. Valentin Zorin, Political Observer of The Voice of Russia)

As they profit from this endless war games, the culture of violence is being sustained and those countries being part and parcel in this ‘game’  maybe wittingly or unwittingly, will find themselves in a debt trap and their poor citizens will suffer the deadly consequences.

People will keep on repeating history if they will not heed to several salient points being given by past leaders and distinguished military men; and then, humanity will be the one to make its own apocalypse in the process.

 Be very vigilant new year to all!

Delayed Apocalypse by Erick San Juan

Delayed Apocalypse by Erick San Juan

When humanity entered the month of December, perhaps there is only one thing on their minds, will the world end on December 21? The hype as propagated by the internet fear mongers especially those social networking sites has affected portions of the netizens and non-netizens alike.  And December 21 has passed and so was the rumor-mongering that has sowed fear to many.

Although something did happen for real, the successful rocket launch of North Korea last December 12 that has caught everyone by surprise. The time frame was given for the said launch but still the world didn’t know that it will happen that soon. The United Sates and its allies were quick to condemn North Korea for such action and NoKor has violated the United Nations ban on "any launch using ballistic missile technology."

Remember in April, after the failed rocket launch of North Korea, the UN Security Council has demanded Pyongyang a halt to any further launches using ballistic missile technology and expressed its determination to take action in the event of another launch. Now that NoKor has done it (again) successfully this time, a new round of sanctions are being discussed by the UN Security Council.

Here at home, the third Philippines and US Bilateral Strategic Dialogue was held last December 11-12 and both countries “strongly condemned the rocket launch by North Korea utilizing ballistic missile technology and emphasized that this highly provocative act is in direct violation of relevant UN Security Council Resolutions, contravenes North Korea’s international obligations, and undermines the global non-proliferation regime. Given this current threat to regional security, both sides will strengthen and increase their close alliance coordination.” (Source: Dept. of Foreign Affairs website)

The said Bilateral Strategic Dialogue was the reason why the US officials were here namely, Assistant Secretary of State Kurt M. Campbell and Assistant Secretary of Defense Mark W. Lippert, while for their counterparts here are Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Policy Erlinda Basilio and National Defense Undersecretary Pio Lorenzo Batino.

What concerns many is the increased rotational presence of US troops in the country vis-à-vis the warships and aircrafts that will freely come and go as they pleased. Will there be any conditions or prohibitions for this said additional military presence in the country?

According to Defense Undersecretary Pio Lorenzo Batino – “modifying the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) is not necessary for the increase in the number of US military ships, aircraft and troops rotating through the Philippines since everything is being viewed as an implementation of the Mutual Defense Treaty and the Visiting Forces Agreement. We can’t go into specifics but of course as mentioned. both parties agreed that everything that will be implemented should be in accordance with the Philippine Constitution, the US Constitution and pertinent laws.” (Source: philstar.com)

The above-mentioned statement by the DND undersecretary

is perceived as another rhetoric, nice to hear but in the midst of too much tensions in the SCS or the West Philippine Sea, we just cannot afford to have such deception coming from the government’s trusted official.

We have witnessed a lot of incidents in the past wherein US soldiers has committed violations of the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) and Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) and even our own constitution. Not to include the recent dumping of ‘toxic wastes’ in our waters.

The bottom line here is – until we suffer another accident or dilemma courtesy of Uncle Sam’s soldiers, we will keep on repeating history of being shortchanged in the process. And, I will never get tired of reminding this government that all these agreements (treaties) we made with the Americans were not ratified by the US Senate and only  binding as Executive Agreement. Like this so-called Bilateral Strategic Dialogue, where in the Second Dialogue, and in the Philippines-US 2+2 meeting in Washington last April, it was agreed upon that there will be an increased both of the rotational US troops and military exercises in the country. So, where does the entire nation’s populace fit in this scenario, where only the top level officials talked about making the whole archipelago as “the Uncle’s military outpost and doormat” in this region? Are we going to be sacrificed again?

The whole nation is being put in the cross-hairs by our own trusted officials. We have to be vigilant as we enter the new year of more exciting times. We might be caught unaware because we did not do our role in helping the present leadership realize the need for more patriotism and nationalism to save our sovereignty.

Many cynics believe that the doubling of military budgets by big powers could be a preparation for something else. Some pundits are saying that this could be our last Christmas festivities before World war 3 erupt.

May God bless us all. Happy holidays!

Is Philippines Part of the HAARP Wittingly?

 Is Philippines Part of the HAARP Wittingly? 
 By Erick San Juan

Rescuers from different government and private agencies are still looking for missing persons who were victims of typhoon Pablo which devastated the southern part of the country and even had its disastrous stop over in some areas in the north. The death reached nine hundred and still counting. We have mentioned the equally deadly effects of man made disasters that had caused the death of hundreds of our fellowmen and still no accountability or whatsoever from the culprits.

As the country suffered from Pablo’s wrath, nations from all over the world met at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, a 12-day conference the goal of which is to curb global warming via human carbon emissions. And at the end of the said conference, there was no clear solution to the problem and large nations like the US and China did not agree to extend the Kyoto Protocol that will end on December 31 of this year.

Methinks that no matter how big and extensive the gatherings of world leaders to address the problems of climate change and/or global warming if they will ignore the most crucial factor of such ‘unexplainable’ disasters, they will never find the right solution.

I am referring to the man made HAARP - High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program which is an ionospheric research program jointly funded by the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Navy, the University of Alaska, and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

Built by BAE Advanced Technologies (BAEAT), its purpose is to analyze the ionosphere and investigate the potential for developing ionospheric enhancement technology for radio communications and surveillance. The HAARP program operates a major sub-arctic facility, named the HAARP Research Station, on an Air Force–owned site near Gakona, Alaska.

The most prominent instrument at the HAARP Station is the Ionospheric Research Instrument (IRI), a high-power radio frequency transmitter facility operating in the high frequency (HF) band. The IRI is used to temporarily excite a limited area of the Ionosphere. Other instruments, such as a VHF and a UHF radar, a fluxgate magnetometer, a digisonde, and an induction magnetometer, are used to study the physical processes that occur in the excited region.

Work on the HAARP Station began in 1993. The current working IRI was completed in 2007, and its prime contractor was BAE Systems Advanced Technologies. As of 2008, HAARP had incurred around $250 million in tax-funded construction and operating costs.

HAARP has been blamed by conspiracy theorists for a range of events, including numerous natural disasters. Mainstream commentators dismiss such allegations as "uninformed." (Source : Wikipedia.org)

Are HAARP – related disasters were just the fruit of some conspiracy theorists’ imagination? Were the mainstream media’s allegations correct that those who points to HAARP as the culprit were simply ‘uninformed’?

To be uninformed in this age of super high technology is just a big no-no, it’s unacceptable especially among the media people. Actually there is too much information on the internet that any individual can chew with just one sitting. And that’s the beauty of the internet, (as I’ve always say), those evil-minded people who think they are gods can no longer hide their evil schemes. With the help of patriotic citizens around the world, I am still optimistic that the good can overcome evil. With the likes of my staunch listener/friend, relatives and others who take time and effort in exposing the evil plans of depopulation, these evildoers will never succeed.

In these exciting times (some say the end times), we will be witnessing a lot of changes that are usually the works of Mother Nature, but because of HAARP, Mother Nature this time has taken the backseat.  With HAARP Technology 2.0 – miniaturized HAARP can now be spread around the world, translation – can be used for war and/or weather manipulation.

HAARP Technology 2.0

Are miniaturized versions of the world’s largest ionospheric heater (HAARP) all around us modifying the weather? Have electromagnetic frequency generators been installed over major fault lines waiting to trigger massive earthquakes? Has our military developed a super weapon that can vaporize entire cities with lightning from the ionosphere? There is evidence that this technology exists and is being deployed.

Way back in 1995, when the seminal book by Dr. Nick Begich and Jeane Manning 'Angels Don’t Play this HAARP' was released, the putative inventor of HAARP, Dr. Bernard Eastlund, speculated that it is ‘entirely possible’ that such technology had already been miniaturized.

Aviation Week reported in 2008 that an airborne version of HAARP had been developed which is towed ‘behind a helicopter.’

The Sea-based X-band Radar (SBX) floating platform utilizes HAARP technology. Here is the Wikipedia listing: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea-based_X-band_Radar

Little HAARPs modifying the local weather?

Scientists at the University of California Los Angeles and the High Power Auroral Stimulation (HIPAS) Observatory in Alaska have assembled a new generation of ionospheric heaters. This technology, known as ‘Hertzian antennas,’ can, “…match or exceed the peak power of the new HAARP system for a fraction of its cost.” Though most implementations are not capable of producing all of the complex, phased signals produced by facilities like HAARP at Gakona, Alaska or the antenna array at Jicamarca, Peru.

All these antennas could be controlled from a central location such as Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

This proposed scenario jibes with the scientists at the HAARP facility who say that their ionospheric heater antenna array goes largely unused. If a network of smaller antennas across the country is handling the day-to-day dirty work, then the HAARP array may only be used occasionally for big jobs such as the Japan earthquake or hurricane Sandy.

Great financial and political gain may be achieved through disasters such as earthquakes. In the catastrophe reinsurance market, one can make a lot of money from a disaster. Governments have been known to seize power through declarations of emergency and subsequent ‘relief’ efforts. (Source: Peter A. Kirby from Activist Post)

Incidentally, Sea-based and land- based X-band Radars are being installed in different parts of the Pacific region. Now we have this new HAARP that may be used for war or weather engineering via these radars. Where in the world can you see a typhoon which can make a U-turn. Sadly, leaders like the one in the Palace allowed the use of these radars just to make the ‘uncle’ happy. Are these leaders dumb not to know the hidden agenda of the super elite? Just asking. Be ever be vigilant...

Fear Mongering at Its Best

Fear Mongering at Its Best

By Erick San Juan

 

 

The netizens are now being bombarded with reports of the so-called end of the world or the beginning of the new age based on the Mayan calendar. Such doomsday scenario is being posted on the internet from bloggers to not so reliable news reports – all to sow fear amongst the world’s populace. Reports also connect the recent calamities from hurricanes to earthquakes to the forthcoming ‘end of the world’ scenario. We never learned on how we were duped to spend to online all our computers to evade the Y2k computer collapse "kuno" last 2000.

 

Fear mongering continues as more and more individuals believe in the lies being propagated by these  global ‘terrorists’. Like the ones in the recently concluded UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, a 12-day conference of 200 nations to curb global warming via human carbon emissions into the atmosphere held at Doha in Qatar from November 26 to December 8. After the said event, press releases were carried by mainstream media parroting the doom and gloom scenario.

 

Annually such meeting is being held in order to sustain the global warming (interchangeably climate change) hoax and for as long as there are world leaders adhering to such foolishness, the deception will continue.

 

As what Alex Newman, a foreign correspondent for The New American online said :

 

“…. recent efforts to exploit fear by climate alarmists and UN bureaucrats seeking to blame “global warming” for weather events like Hurricane Sandy, for example, are absurd on their face, according to Lord Monckton and a wide array of experts. In reality, these sorts of bogus claims are nothing more than fear mongering aimed at drumming up hysteria and duping the public to facilitate a global agreement that would benefit the UN, power-hungry governments, dictatorships, and elements of “Big Business” — all at the expense of humanity, science, prosperity, liberty, national sovereignty, and real environmental problems.

 

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Reports are the ‘scientific’ source of claims for more severe and extreme weather,” observed Dr. Tim Ball, a climate scientist who has been one of the more prominent experts to challenge the UN’s dubious theories aside from former IPCC experts themselves. “In fact the incidence and severity of extreme weather — hurricanes, wind storms, tornadoes, heat waves, drought, floods, ice storms, etc. — have not generally increased recently and are well within long term natural variability.

 

Despite those facts, top UN officials continue to make blatantly false claims about climate, warning that if governments refuse to promptly force their populations to submit to the outlandish demands, certain disaster awaits. The tone is only getting more and more hysterical, too. Last month, before the COP18 began in Doha, even UN boss Ban Ki-moon himself made those same absurd allegations, damaging his remaining credibility further; possibly beyond repair.”

 

Sadly, even our own climate envoy to the UN convention, Naderev Sano was believed to be taken for a ride blaming the climate change hoax on the devastation brought about by the onslaught of typhoon Pablo in the country. But most activists like Sano are foreign funded through NGO's. Actually, Pablo is a wake up call to all government officials, elected and appointed to address the perennial man-made problem like illegal logging, etc. that has caused and will cause disasters to all of us.

 

It is natural that our country is being visited by not less than twenty typhoons per year and any excuses coming from the national and local leaders are not acceptable when it comes to saving lives or preventing such disaster to claim lives.

 

Corruption is still prevalent and after every disaster there is no accountability or whatsoever from responsible officials who allow such deaths to occur. The solutions are not in any ‘superbody’ like the United Nations, it is right within our reach, our own leaders’ commitment to serve the country’s citizens and give them protection whenever there’s a calamity.

 

So, instead of Naderev Sano’s appeal prop to the world at the UN convention to find solutions to the impacts of climate change, Sano should appeal to the present administration to do it's role to avoid the loss of more precious lives. It’s still all about accountability, stupid!

 

And if we will continue to ride the deception of the fear mongerers, the death toll will continue to rise and in the end we will ask dumbly, what hit us?

 

Let us all be vigilant and think twice before believing the lies being fed to us, there are a lot of them especially on the internet. We have to study and conduct research on our own in order to balance the different views being presented to us. An intelligent mind cannot be deceived easily. God bless us all.

 

 

Deceitful Alliance

Deceitful Alliance
By Erick San Juan


It has been ten years ago since the Declaration on Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) was signed by the ten-member nations of the ASEAN with China in Cambodia.

And now in the same place, at Phnom Penh in Cambodia where the countries of East Asia with ASEAN had their summit. The issue on the disputes in the South China Sea was once again tackled but not with the consensus of the parties concerned. Why is this so? The fact that the nations comprising ASEAN agreed not to ‘internationalize’ the sea disputes in the summit. But still, the Philippines and Vietnam raised the issue and President Noynoy Aquino, in particular, disagreed publicly with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.

As what the Daily Tribune emphatically put it, that the Philippines “acting as the US’ frontal attack dog' against China during the Asean summit in Cambodia” …. and “referred to China as the “foreign aggressor” from whom he and Filipinos will never retreat”, is a clear sign that kowtowing to Uncle Sam will not help us solve the issues and put us in a bad light in the international community.

For the past few days since the incident at the Summit, tensions started to heighten again and more provocations are in the offing, e.g. the revival of the 9-dash line of China’s claim in the SCS by including it in their map and putting it in their e-passport is not a good sign. Added to this is the meeting of some Asean-member claimants next month that will be hosted by PNoy to discuss the SCS issue (again) whether the claimants can tackle it on a multilateral basis.

According to some pundits - "not to internationalize the South China Sea issue" is one of the important principles written in the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea that’s  why China has been consistently stubborn in its bilateral approach in solving the disputes in the SCS issue. Some experts believe that efforts will be wasted if the claimants will insist on the multilateral approach as basis for solving the problem.

Martin Jacques, a British author told the local media last week that in the face of provocations, China will not go to war over Spratlys and/or Scarborough Shoal. His advice, “Don’t lose the perspective, the big picture… Smart governments think strategically. They have a sense of the future and have a sense of what to do, know its priorities,” is something to ponder by leaders of different countries (claimants or not).

PNoy might be losing some of his perspectives and blindly following a perceived master. believing that in the long run this master will be there to fight for us. How pathetic.

In the midst of a possible regional conflict, a good leader should know his priorities and how to approach the matter at hand strategically without compromising the safety of the whole populace. Any miscalculation and foolish act of belligerence can lead to a mutually assured destruction. It could result into blaming the present leadership’s lack of perspective and sense of what to do in such confrontation. In the end, the Rankopedia survey group’s report will soon be a reality. It stated that PNoy is the worst President of all times and Hitler is only second to him in rank, (translation) our country will be a witting cannon fodder to the dictates of a perceived master and a lot of Filipinos will die in the process.

Geostrategic approach, firm and clear foreign policy should be the order of the day in order to ‘read the game’ the G2 (US and China) are playing. The game plan is deep and dark in the eyes of the world to see and comprehend. It needs a wise leader with a heart and the eyes to see the big picture that all of these are being played against us as a nation. The present government should not be fooled with rhetoric and deceit, or this country will suffer the worst consequences of a war that only the powerful will win.

 "Walang tutulong sa Filipino kundi kapwa Filipino!"

Depopulation: Scary Indeed! By Erick San Juan

Depopulation: Scary Indeed! By Erick San Juan

“Karen Parker is a humanitarian and human rights lawyer who lives in San Francisco and she has an NGO at the United Nations since 1981. She was able to get through the United Nations Human Rights Commission, the first resolution on depleted uranium in 1996. She is very, very adept and very skilled, and what she told me is Iraq is not the real focus, the region they’re really after is from Sudan and Somalia to the Philippines and from the oil-rich republics of Central Asia to Sumatra. She said that whole vast region has a tremendous concentration of the world’s energy resources.'

"In the United States, 70 percent of energy resources are on native American land and that’s why they are targeted for extermination and genocide. And I worked with native Americans, that’s exactly what’s happening to them”.

This is an excerpt from the speech of Leuren Moret, an Expert Witness at the International Criminal Tribunal For Afghanistan in Tokyo, Japan.  She is an independent scientist and an international expert on radiation and public health issues. She is on the organizing committee of the World Committee on Radiation Risk, an organization of independent radiation specialists, including members of the Radiation Committee in the EU parliament and the European Committee on Radiation Risk. Ms. Moret earned her BS in geology at U.C. Davis in 1968 and her MA in Near Eastern studies from U.C. Berkeley in 1978. She has traveled and conducted scientific research in 42 countries.  She contributed to a scientific report on depleted uranium for the United Nations sub commission investigating the illegality of depleted uranium munitions. Marion Fulk, a former Manhattan Project scientist and retired insider at the Livermore Lab, who is an expert on radioactive fallout and rainout, has trained her on radiation issues.

Leuren Moret has conducted research concerning the impact on the health of the environment and global public health from atmospheric testing, nuclear power plants and depleted uranium.  She has helped collect and measure radiation in 6000 baby teeth from children living around nuclear power plants, and helped The State of Louisiana (USA) pass the first state depleted uranium bill for mandatory testing of soldiers.

Through some concerned listeners of our weekly radio program of Tony Arevalo and Joy Rosaroso (RMN Alarma 558AM,930p.m.), they suggested that we look into the issue of depleted uranium, and through the video of Leuren Moret at youtube.com the excerpt I cited here caught my attention.

In lieu of the alleged dumping of toxic wastes in Philippine waters from the US warships from the last military exercises, we have to rethink of the possibilities of the design to reduce the population of nations like ours in order for the globalists to get our energy resources. If they can do it to their own native Americans, they can easily do it to the citizens of other nations.

The use of depleted uranium during the Gulf War and thereafter is a plan that was conceived as a tool for depopulation. There are several studies on the internet regarding this : “The depleted uranium DU was also recommended as a permanent terrain contaminant which could be used to destroy populations by contaminating water supplies and agricultural land with radioactive dust. Current estimates suggest that the damaged soil in Iraq, Yugoslavia and Afghanistan will need four and a half billion years to recover from the radioactive effect of DU.
                                                                     
Some of the uranium from shells vaporizes into particles measuring 1/10 of a micron. These particles enter the atmosphere and later fall to the ground with rain. Radioactive debris has been found at both the North and South Poles. In gaseous form, the chemically toxic and radioactive uranium easily enters the body through the skin or when inhaled into the lungs.” (by Dr. James Howenstine, MD.)

Several studies from scientists and medical doctors proved that the use of depleted uranium munitions targets humanity as a whole - now and the generations to come.

And, this is not the only tool for extermination and genocide of humans(a.k.a.depopulation). There is also the widespread use of diseases from vaccines. Remember the scare tactics the globalists used on the so-called Avian flu and then came the swine flu or H1N1. These things happened by design and unfortunately, our country was also used as one of their laboratories reportedly via the Naval Medical Research Unit No. 2 or NAMRU2 based in the Pacific area. A NAMRU2 located in Jakarta, Indonesia was closed by the government of Indonesia in 2010 when they found out that the laboratory could not provide adequate control of biological agents and a likelihood of outbreaks is real.                                                                                   

Our past leaders, wittingly (or unwittingly) allowed the use of our citizenry to be guinea pigs in search of vaccines that will kill more than cure a large number of people here and around the world.

We should be determined to put a stop to this insanity of killing large populations which they termed as 'useless' eaters and actually a threat to the west’s national security. Through the internet, like what other patriotic netizens are doing, people around the world should be informed and put a stop to this sinister plot of some evil geniuses that will annihilate large portions of humanity.

We are in the age of information war, and if our leaders do not have the political will to save this country, we have the power on our fingertips to use the avenues via the internet to spread the information and fight this insanity of depopulation.

VFA Revisited by Erick San Juan

VFA Revisited by Erick San Juan

 When the Arroyo government kowtowed to the whims of then US President George Bush Jr. at the height of the global war on terror (GWOT), it was very convenient to justify the presence of the US troops here especially in the south. Talks on the review of the VFA (Visiting Forces Agreement) then was all for 'praise' releases of the administration when several progressive groups exposed the “temporary” basing in Mindanao a.k.a. US special forces to help the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) with their training against insurgents.

Then came the controversial rape case involving a US soldier that happened in the former US naval base in Subic Bay in Olongapo City. The VFA then was again asked to be reviewed by treaty experts in the US State Department and by their local counterparts in light of the order of the Supreme Court for the Philippine government to take custody of Smith. The continued refusal of the US to hand over Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith has rekindled calls for the abrogation of the agreement. But nothing happened.

When the controversial call of US President Barack Obama reached the office of former President Gloria Arroyo (March 2009) the US “reaffirmed their commitment to the long-standing US-Philippines alliance, including the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), which remains critical to the bilateral relationship and our strategic interests,” (a statement posted on the White House website said).

So, it is quite obvious that the re-election of President Obama is another way of saying that there will be no review or whatsoever where the VFA is concern. That is the American policy.

But here in the Philippines, as what Ms. Ninez Cacho Olivarez in her article at The Daily Tribune puts it – “See what happens when the President of the  Republic becomes a lackey of the United States and blatantly violate the Constitution by allowing, without question, the nuclear powered ships of the US to come to the country for so called port calls?”

We have written several articles in the past (@ericksanjuan.blogspot.com) on the defense treaties that we have with Uncle Sam, they should be revisited and reviewed (or possibly terminated) because it benefits them more than us. It is now being supported by our good friend, Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago. In other words, from the very start, these pacts were all one-sided. Even in it's ratification, treaties and agreements we entered in the past, it did not have the conforme of the other party. Are we all dolts that our government allow such process?
 
The alleged dumping of toxic wastes from US ships from last month’s military exercises at the Philippine waters was bannered by the Philippine Daily Inquirer. Pundits believe that it is another form of how Uncle Sam indirectly saying that ‘your country is our doormat, and we will do whatever we want to do.’ ( translation- we cannot do anything about this because we have pacts that our past leaders and dealers entered, and these pacts screwed the entire nation, and the generations to come.)
 
Lest we forget, when the Americans left Subic and Clark, they also left behind toxic wastes that were not properly cleaned up because ‘it’s not covered by the Military Bases Agreement’. Several NGOs have documentation of how these wastes have been affecting the lives of the people living in and near the areas of the former US military bases. But the nagging question here is – were there efforts made to address these problems that were brought about by that ‘agreement’?

This is exactly what is happening now to the present administration. We will remain a dumping ground because we have people in the government who are not doing enough to protect the citizenry and the country’s sovereignty.  And worst, they are the ones putting the life of every Filipino in danger.

We are one with Ms. Ninez when she wrote – “But does Noynoy care? All he seems to want is to give in to whatever demands are made by good old Uncle Sam, as he believes he can never be ousted from power as long as he is Uncle Sam’s puppet in the country. Noynoy does not even care that he is willfully violating the Constitution. Since he has his propaganda arm claiming constantly that he always follows the charter, when Noynoy clearly does not. Besides, he knows he won’t ever get impeached because he can always bribe the House of Representatives not to impeach him.”

If the President himself seems to be oblivious of what is going on in this country and how a supposed ally has been treating us in the process, there is no hope for this nation to get what is due us. We will be forever be shortchanged and be dragged into a war not of our liking because the leadership has already 'gone to the dogs'.

There will be a lot of future military exercises and tons of wastes to be dumped here, as Uncle Sam’s re-elected leader reiterated its commitment to ‘help’ countries in the Asia-Pacific region in their military modernization in defense from possible  adversaries. Despite the denial of retired Vice Admiral Mateo Mayuga CEO of Glenn Defense Marine Phils., Inc. that it dumped toxic wastes, but Hernan Habacon, spokesperson of Subic Water and Sewerage Co. said that tested water samples from a Glenn Defense vessel showed that these were "beyond the permissible limits". (PDI  Nov.13,2012)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

What now, PNoy?

International Summit: The Good Side by Erick San Juan

International Summit: The Good Side by Erick San Juan   
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       
I have attended  and have been invited to attend several prestigious international conferences like the IISS(International Institute for Strategic Studies) Shangri-la Dialogue based in London, the RSIS Singapore Global Dialogue, the ASEAN conferences, the APEC Leaders' meeting, the Asean Regional Forum, East West Center, etc. All of them are inspired by members of the academe, scholars, big business, top government, diplomats, and military officials of nation-states discussing relations and partnerships, regional and world economic cooperation, world leaders speaking about policy differences and coalition instead of collision.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         
At the RSIS-Singapore Global Dialogue last September hosted by the S. Rajaretnam School of International Studies, in one of the programs concerning global security challenges, Prof. Efraim Inbar of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies of the Bar-Ilan University in Israel made a fiery statement against Iran's nuclear ambition but a muslim scholar on the floor reacted by saying that Israel has more nukes than any nation in the Middle East. Joseph Liow of RSIS, an expert moderator easened everything and let the discussions of other matters push through.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                               
Even  at the recent APEC summit in Vladivostok, Russia last month, top political leaders want Russia to participate in the nation-states multilateral regional conferences. APEC leaders wanted big powers to interact and have confidence building through dialogue. In this kind of framework,it develops new regional architecture, based on principles,learning from each others experience especially on security matters to strengthen the stability of each region.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        
As I have been espousing,  that politics begins and ends in economics. APEC advocates business cooperation among member states. Given the existence of a number of territorial and economic conflicts among countries in every region,while raising these issues under the dialogue mechanism, several countries including Russia were able to demonstrate particular foreign policy stance, sanctions and commitments to the peaceful settlement of international and territorial problems.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
Even in the APEC's ministerial level meetings, most of them adhere to the greater integration of the political and economic development especially in the South East Asia and the Pacific region.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      The ASEM and EAS forums for the dialogue and cooperation in the regional security, the U.S. and Russia were in constant constructive dialogue, levelling military strength as part of the counteraction to the growing influence of China.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                           
Experts and think-tanks evaluate such interaction to make sure that it will be beneficial to all concern parties. I was told that among the advantages for the region, like with Russia are long-term and stable supply of raw materials especially oil and gas, joint projects on exploration, development of deposits,oil and gas pipeline construction,projects in hydro and nuclear power, research in alternative energy sources and energy technologies. With this information, Russia can play a significantrole in the economic development in the region.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     
If Russia can do this, why not us? Philippines have GOD- gas,oil and deutherium(heavy water used for space exploration). We only  need to unite and get partners-investors who can develop our natural resources. We should stop the manipulation of our politicians and leaders and the principle of 'what's in it for me'.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Through such dialogues, even the U.S. learned from other nation-states on how to cope up with the new kind of terrorism. It's all about the widespread corruption - worst than a disease. According to ATS, the threats before used to come from inter-government conflicts, destabilizing activities of right wing militants and left wing extremists. Now, it's the smugglers, illegal drug traffickers, carpet baggers/mafia bosses who steal the show. Most of their leaders now have legitimate fronts, big business controlling dirty politicians, scalawags in robes, law enforcers, military, goons, soldiers of fortune, warlords and even the church.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
This is the reason why  U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta made a policy strategy guidance last January that will reportedly shape the U.S. Department of Defense engagement in the region.                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Watch the movie- LOOPER and you will understand what I'm talking about. Cheers!

Another “Doll in One’s Pocket”?

Another “Doll in One’s Pocket”?
By Erick San Juan


Gathered from various news wires, Senator Richard Lugar (Republican-Indiana) arrived in Manila last October 27 and will stay until October 31, and the purpose of  his Asia-Pacific tour is ‘to encourage nations to reduce the use, production and stockpiling of weapons of mass destruction’.

According to a press release from the US Embassy in Manila, Lugar’s visit is an effort to expand the Nunn-Lugar Global Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) Program, which focuses on dismantling nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and reducing their stockpiles.

“Cooperation is essential to identifying and interdicting the flow of weapons of mass destruction through out Southeast Asia. Sources of nuclear, chemical or biological weapons or precursor materials could be states or rogue terrorist elements,” the press release quoted Lugar as saying.

Thinking Filipinos and pundits alike might ask, why in the world that Sen. Lugar chose the Philippines to make his announcement? Do we have such WMD, nuclear weapons and the likes?

The last time I checked my history books, it was their 'gang' headed by then Secretary of State George Shultz that helped put Cory Aquino as president replacing Ferdinand Marcos through the People Power Revolution in 1986. Together with that was the immediate ‘death sentence’ to Bataan Nuclear Power Plant that we paid but we never used a single watt of electricity. And the rest, is somewhat part of our ‘bad’ history.

It’s quite obvious that our dream to have cheaper electricity (through nuclear power plant) has long been shelved, and now the good senator announced such nuke threats here?

In politics, nothing happens by accident. If it happens, you can bet it was planned that way. (Franklin D. Roosevelt) Same is true with geopolitics.

Since the standoff in the Panatag Shoal (or Scarborough) until the famous announcement of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton of the United States’ pivot to the Asia-Pacific region, the confluence of events lead to the return of US troops to the Philippines. Of course there is always the convenience of citing the Mutual Defense Treaty through the Visiting Forces Agreement for the reason that US troops can legally ‘visit’ their former military base in Subic. But the nagging question is for how long the visit will last?

And having FDR’s quotation in mind, the plan has been set since the election of PNoy as the country’s next president. Lest we forget that the unseen hand of Uncle Sam is always there especially in choosing the highest leader of the land.

And the visit of Senator Lugar here is not just an ‘ordinary’ visit. The fact that he played a major role in the country’s recent past history, might be repeated (or people might repeat history).

I want to share here another flashback about the good Senator. Back in early June this year, he was conferred the Order of Lakandula with the rank of Grand Collar (Supremo) during the launching of the new lobby group, US-Philippine Society- a think tank co-chaired by businessman Manuel Pangilinan and former US Ambassador to the Philippines John Negroponte.

Lugar was given the Lakandula award for his “significant contributions to the enhancement of the Philippine-US alliance and friendship.” And in fact, he introduced Senate Resolution 481 calling for increased American defense and security cooperation with the Philippines, including support for the modernization of the Philippine military. (Source: PDI by Daxim L. Lucas)

Need we say more? So, it seems that we owe Sen. Lugar our military’s modernization.

Back to his intention ‘to encourage expansion of the Nunn-Lugar Global Cooperative Threat reduction program’ here in the region is quite a doublespeak. Why?

The fact that Washington wanted to restrict the use of nuclear arms here in our territory. What about their warships who many believe are loaded with nuclear arms and nuclear-powered at that?  As I always say, not all Filipinos are fools or can be fooled by rhetorics and deceits, especially coming from a supposed ally.

As a matter of fact, Russia just announced last October 10 that it ‘will not renew a decades-old agreement with Washington on dismantling nuclear and chemical weapons when it expires next year, according to Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov.

Senator Richard Lugar, a veteran disarmament campaigner, was in Moscow in August to push for the renewal of the program, known as the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction program, which he helped launch.

The project intended to dismantle nuclear and chemical weapons from the former Soviet Union, was last ratified by Russia in 2006 and is due to expire in 2013. Aides said it has resulted in the deactivation of more than 7,650 strategic warheads.

Ryabkov said that Russia now has the finances to carry out its own programs and that Moscow is interested in the continuing partnerships in third world countries. (Reuters)

Could this be the reason why Sen. Lugar turned to this region in promoting his program?  And the main thing here that we have to watch out for is, what could be Beijing’s reaction to Uncle Sam’s emissary’s visit to the region?

Possibly not good. Pundits believe that another scenario is being hatched. We have shown to our neighbors here (and the rest of world) that a possible rehash of 1986 is in the offing. Hope that it is not another programmed 'doll in the pocket’. God forbid!

The Puppet and His Master by Erick San Juan

The Puppet and His Master by Erick San Juan

Two important elections are in the offing – the United States and China. Both will happen sometime this November. As the heated debates between President Barack Obama and Gov. Mitt Romney intensify, many analysts think that both US presidentiables are using the China – bashing tactic to win some votes.
                           
US Presidential debate (Round 2) last October 17, 2012 in New York - the debate metamorphosed into blame game on policy breach and failures. Both President Barack Obama and Gov. Mitt Romney claimed that one of them is soft with China and secretly doing business deals with China.

As the debate moves on, the skeleton in the closet of both candidates were exposed. Breitbart.com obtained an advance copy of a bombshell report which reveals that the Obama.com website is not owned by the president's campaign but rather by Obama bundler Robert Roche, a US citizen living in Shanghai, China. Roche is the chairman of a chinese infomercial company, Acorn International, with ties to state-controlled banks in China that allow it to gain revenue through credit card transactions with Chinese banks. If you will type Obama.com, it will redirect to contribute.barackobama.com/donation/index-ovf.html. While Romney is being exposed to have also business ties with China, with Chinese banks, industrialists who have senior positions in the Chinese government. The buzzword is, Romney even visited a factory in China when Bain bought it. A factory that have barbed wire on the fences, sniper towers which was reportedly a slave labor camp. Both wanted to please their audience, the American people and the world’s televiewers. The puppet masters, of course, are watching, evaluating and grading them on who will they put to power come November. Such puppet masters hold the future of the rest of the world as the United States’ next president will be as powerful when it comes to its foreign policy. We are now living in very exciting times, both economically and the world’s security. We have witnessed on the latter part of President Obama’s term on how his administration’s foreign defense policy shifted to what they call Air-Sea Battle and turned to the Asia-Pacific region as its next focus when it comes to its fight against terrorism among others.

And these ‘others’ – one the encirclement (a.k.a. containment) of China and the  so-called nuclear threat from North Korea. Many believe that these two candidates are both the same and equally bad for the American people and the world.

Washington announced plans last spring to expand its missile defense shield and install its components not only in Europe but also in Asia and the Middle East. US Assistant Secretary of Defense for Global Strategic Issues Madelyn Creedon said that locations in Australia, Japan and South Korea could be selected. It was also reported in August that missile defense components – early warning radars would appear in Japan and the Philippines. The strategic locations of the countries mentioned here all points to the area of significance to China and North Korea.

With the establishment of military base in Australia and the return of US troops and warships in Subic, it is clear that ‘actions speak louder than words.’ The White House has made no secret of the fact that it sees China as the main regional threat. As the American leader Barack Obama put it back then, the United States and small Asian countries had long been concerned about Beijing’s territorial claims to islands in the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea). Washington considers this region to be of great strategic importance because up to US$1.2 billion in commercial shipping passes through it annually on the way to American shores.

The perceived danger posed by both China and North Korea in the region has actually increased the desire of every nation, especially claimants in the disputed areas of the SCS, to purchase more war materiel in the process. Such move only increased the possibility of a regional conflict and in the end it’s only the military industrial complex who got all the profits through the arms race fanned by their surrogates in Pentagon. And, in this way the goal of Pentagon’s full spectrum dominance in the region was achieved.

The provocations, as perceived by China, by Uncle Sam through its allies has developed into a bigger rift in the relationship among the countries in the region. The US may not be headed for a direct military confrontation with China at the moment but the Pentagon wants to contain China, wants to encircle China and keep its subservience to US dictates. And, Philippines can become a hostage to the strategic plans of Washington in the region.

And for as long as we kowtow to Washington’s every whim without even a 'quid pro quo', we cannot remove ourselves from the stigma that we are Uncle Sam’s military outpost and doormat in the region. And from my previous article – The Shield that Will Endanger Us, this same shield will put every Filipino life in danger if we will not get our act together and change the course of history and stop being Uncle Sam’s pawn in their game of war.

 Wake up!

The Road to Peace, a Piecemeal?

The Road to Peace, a Piecemeal?      
By Erick San Juan


After pacifying the netizens of the cyberworld (for the meantime) due to the temporary restraining order (TRO) issued by the Supreme Court on the Cybercrime Law (R.A. 10175), the PNoy administration has ‘pacified’ the warring factions in the south through its so-called Bangsamoro Framework Agreement. But for how long?

As what Ninez Cacho-Olivares of the Daily Tribune wrote “So why should this piece of paper be hailed to high heavens by foreign governments and the yellow propagandists of Noynoy or even by the MILF, especially when there have been many previous peace agreements with specified terms and conditions from the time of President Ferdinand Marcos, to Presidents Cory Aquino, Fidel Ramos and Gloria Arroyo, all of which failed to bring about peace?”

A very good question that PNoy and the people in his loop should consider seriously now that certain sectors were not pacified with this agreement. What else is new with this ‘framework’ anyway? Framework is the skeleton and the unknown annex is the meat. What could be politically right, could be legally wrong. Even Dick Pascual of Philippine Star twitted that we can't fix a broken system by breaking it more. He added that the agreement is only between Malacanang and the MILF.ARMM was created by our congress through RA 6734 based on our constitution. It can't be abolished by mere executive order. Some say it is somehow related to Gloria Arroyo’s MOA-AD (BJE) that was ruled by the Supreme Court as unconstitutional back then.

After the propaganda hype has died down and the agreement was signed, sealed and delivered to the parties concerned, what’s next?

WIIFM

A lot has already been written and so many comments went around through the internet and text messaging, the bottom line here is the good old question by the main players – WIIFM, translation, what’s in it for me?

The elusive road to peace is not as straight as the ‘daang matuwid’ of PNoy, the receiving end, the Bangsamoro  political entity through the MILF will tread the long and winding road to peace until 2016 (or thereabouts) because the ‘framework agreement’ says so. The week-long (since its announcement) jubilation culminated at the signing in Malacanang is only the beginning. And the major players will not just wait and see until it becomes a law without us benefiting from it.

Lest we forget that there will be elections next year here and in Malaysia. Thus, it is a good copy for more ‘pogi points’ so to speak to win an election.

Another important reminder, the different analysis from various analysts and respected writers like former Senator Rene Espina and Erik Espina of Manila Bulletin, Jemy Gatdula of Businessworld, etc. have pointed out the flaws and crucial points that the ‘framers and fixers’ of the Framework Agreement had (deliberately?) overlooked that might be essential in the coming deliberation process. Which in due time will encounter difficulties and make the whole undertaking painfully longer than expected.  And will not be under PNoy’s term? What a masterpiece. Who said that PNoy is dumb? Just asking.

Ferdie Pasion, an activist blogger said that, Kosovo and East Timor right after attaining sub-state status, declared independence with the international community immediately giving them recognition. With this in mind, as for the time being, the present leadership assured everybody happy after the ‘historical event’ and the road to peace (even by piecemeal) has taken a step forward. But two steps backward… When it comes to peace in the Asia-Pacific region.

As the euphoria escalates among the Muslim world, the US troops has also intensified its presence in the country. Alongside with the ongoing PHIBLEX that will end on October 18, there is the ongoing military buildup in Subic. It is just like "painting in the west (peace) and possible fighting in the east" scenario in the offing.

As I have written in my past articles, the role of the Philippines in Uncle Sam’s pivot to the Asia-Pacific region is very vital. As far back as the time when Halford Mackinder’s Eurasian heartland’s map was drawn, our country has an important role in their plan to encircle China (or some geostrategists will say ‘containment of China’).  Sadly, the present leadership seems to be unaffected by the recent developments and some pundits branded the PNoy administration and his key officials to be witting tools for the global elite's  plan to be implemented here.

As I keep on repeating for the nth time, the program is on, the drive for a global war through a regional conflict can be delayed but it cannot be stopped.  We are witnessing a world repeating a bad part in human history, in order to save a dying economy, the world will need to start a war. Because of stupidity amongst war freaks, for them - war is imminent. And if we will tag along with such stupidity, we will all be part of a mutually assured destruction. And the world will destruct by piecemeal.

Double Fasten Your Seatbelt by Erick San Juan

The US and Philippine Amphibious Landing Exercise (PHIBLEX 13) was formally opened aboard the USS Bonehomme Richard in Subic Bay, Zambales on October 8 and will last until October 18. It is a regularly scheduled exercise hosted annually by the Republic of the Philippines (as reported by different news agencies).

As per news release from the defense department, PHIBLEX 13 is the 29th iteration in a continuing series of exercises designed to promote regional peace and security by ensuring interoperability and readiness of Philippine and US forces.

“This year’s exercise will focus on improving interoperability for humanitarian assistance and disaster response missions which are critical in the Ring of Fire,” US Ambassador to the Philippine Harry K. Thomas, Jr. said.

As if the Philippines has just recently included in the Ring of Fire, 'WTF' that this centuries-old fact had to be mentioned in this year’s PHIBLEX anyway? Is there something new here that we haven’t heard before?

As what US Navy officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Camp Aguinaldo reporters, "that the US military continuously conducts port calls and other military activities in various countries in the region to guard against possible bullying by China".

 “We need to maintain presence in the area so that you will not be bullied by China and Iran,” added the US officer. (Source: tribune.net)

And so another reason is to show support to the AFP (armed Forces of the Philippines) against the bullying of China… and (now) Iran? Why Iran?

Being an ally of Uncle Sam in this part of the Pacific, it is giving me the nightmares. We are like a giant magnet attracting enemies we had acquired in the process of being a pawn to a possible war games.

The big picture is getting clearer now. of how crucial the role of our country to the so-called ‘pivot’ to the Asia-Pacific by Washington and the Pentagon. In my last article. Why Register Your Punches? (can be read @ericksanjuan.blogspot.com), the plan to help our AFP by Uncle Sam was enumerated and the recent development at Subic Bay Freeport is in tune with this plan.

The plan to convert the Subic International Airport complex into a Singapore Sentosa-type family-oriented entertainment and casino resort center has been deferred.

Instead, the airport complex is now being eyed to serve as a forward base for the joint operations of the Philippine Air Force and the United States Air Force Pacific alliance.

The joint operation, according to sources, was aimed at maintaining regional balance in the light of the continuing territorial dispute between the Philippines and China in the West Philippine Sea. (Source: Joint PH-US base in the works in Subic, Manila Standard Today 10/03/12)

I have written about this possible return of the bases before when some senior legislators from Washington went here and visited Subic. The turn of events since then has culminated into this forward base in Subic. And we have forward operating bases already in Mindanao – “Since 2002, a unit now called the Joint Special Operations Task Force-Philippines (JSOTFP) has been deployed to the southern Philippines. Contrary to the US and Philippine governments efforts to present the troops belonging to the unit as part of temporary training exercises, this unit has maintained its presence in the country continuously… With various military facilities now being constructed for their use, members of the unit refer to their bases in Mindanao as "forward operating base-11" and "advanced operating base-921". (IN THE DRAGON'S LAIR US prowls for China in the Philippines by Herbert Docena).

And there is more to this so-called forward base, the creation of the CSLs. The "Cooperative Security Locations" are technically run and maintained by Manila or private contractors. The Pentagon considers them "US military facilities that may be activated for pre-positioning logistics support and as venues for joint operations with host militaries during actual combat operations."

From the article of Mr. Docena - the indefinite stationing of US troops in the country - have significantly improved the US ability to operate in and from the Philippines, thereby locking the country firmly within the US global posture.

In effect, we are locked (so to speak) and in the crosshairs for possible retaliation from any country perceived as adversary by Uncle Sam. And the present leadership seems to be oblivious to what is happening to our country.

If there is anything that is unconstitutional here is this so-called forward basing and the establishment of the CSLs (a category of military bases in official US parlance). Lest we forget that our country has strictly prohibited the re-establishment of foreign military bases here after 1991, when the US left Subic and Clark.

Sadly, Uncle Sam will always conveniently seek the MDT and VFA in particular to justify their forward bases here. What a convenience in our expense because our legislators has forgotten to pursue the long-standing review (and possible abrogation) of the Visiting Forces Agreement.

If we keep on repeating history, we will end up the witting cannon fodder and worst, we will not even know what hit us. Why? Because the people in the government who supposed to be protecting this nation’s populace seems to be in the ‘noynoying’ mode, translation – the next election, with the same faces and family names, this country is really going to the dogs.

 Double fasten your seatbelts!

Why Telegraph Your Punches? By Erick San Juan

 Why Telegraph Your Punches? By Erick San Juan

Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific security affairs Mark Lippert bared a three-part approach that the US Defense Department will do to help boost the alliance between the two countries on security-related issues.

In a live stream forum of the Center for Strategic and International Studies held in Washington, DC (last September 27), assistant secretary of defense for Asian and Pacific security affairs Mark Lippert bared a three-part approach that the US Defense Department will do to help boost the alliance between the two countries on security-related issues. (Source: Manila Standard Today online 9/30/2012)

Sounds great, another helping hand extended by our ally, the good old Uncle Sam in the midst of the growing military strength of China in the South China Sea or West Philippine Sea. But, why the feeling that somehow there is something fishy here? As an observer of events unfolding on the matters of national and global security, we noticed that there is a scenario-building here, courtesy of the Heritage Foundation.

We came across some articles in their website that enumerated the country’s military weaknesses – translation, a script that culminated at the recent conference by the CSIS, Washington, DC. Now that Uncle Sam is in rescue mode to “help” our AFP. Such helping hand is actually in tune with their Air-Sea Battle strategy.

They will 'help' us strengthen our air and naval forces, but as always the nagging question, is Uncle Sam really helping us? Lest we forget that the so-called AFP modernization where military hardware and other war materiel were purchased, as in ‘bought’ from Washington are not FREE. As what Dr. Paul Craig Roberts said in one of his article – everything in America is for sale. Why telegraph your punches? In fact, these war materials can't be delivered immediately. Plus most of the possible warring nations will do a preemptive strike or the so called "First Strike Policy". Do we have to say more?

Here is the plan :

In June 2011, the executive branch of the government and the AFP agreed on a multiyear, multibillion peso defense upgrade spending and military buildup. The Department of Budget Management (DBM) released a multiyear obligation authority (MOA) to the DND, allowing the AFP to enter into multiyear contracts with other governments or private arms and military hardware manufacturers. The DBM also committed 40 billion pesos (about $800 million) in the next five years (2012–2016) to develop the AFP’s capabilities for greater domain awareness of the Philippines’ territorial waters and EEZ. In the proposed “rolling” program, the executive branch will ask the Philippine Congress to allocate 8 billion pesos ($160 million) annually for five years for the acquisition of air-defense surveillance radar, surface-attack aircraft, close-air-support aircraft, combat-utility helicopters, and long-range patrol aircraft.  Also covered are current upgrade programs, such as the installation of a radar and communications network along the coast of Palawan and East Mindanao under the Coast Watch System and the acquisition of three refurbished U.S. Coast Guard Hamilton class cutters for the Philippine Navy.( By Renato De Castro and Walter Lohman September 24, 2012)

Seriously, we have to build up, modernize our Armed Forces in order for Uncle Sam to have a ‘strong ally’ in the region against a perceived adversary that will hamper Uncle Sam’s plans, meaning-the Philippines as a cannon fodder, what else?

Furthermore, from the same piece we got from the authors mentioned, the US will ‘help’ us by :

“Providing the Philippines up to two squadrons of refurbished F-16s through the Excess Defense Articles program, along with a training program on their maintenance.

Forming a Pentagon–DND–AFP committee to formulate a multiyear program guiding the re-establishment of the country’s air-defense system in tandem with maritime surveillance capabilities.

Encouraging U.S. allies (Australia, Japan, and South Korea) to sell the Philippines their state-of-the art lead-in jet trainers that can be used by the PAF as a transition fighter before it shifts to a fourth-generation interceptor.

Deploying, on a six-month rotational basis, a U.S. Marine or Navy fighter squadron to be based in cooperative security locations (CSLs) in the Philippines.

Establishing radar and weather-monitoring stations in the Philippines. These stations will be manned jointly by the U.S. Marine Corps, the U.S. Air Force, and the PAF, just like the Wallace Air Station set up prior to 1992 when Clark Air Base and Subic Naval Bases were still operational.

Deploying, on a rotational basis, a squadron of P-8 Poseidons to CSLs in the Philippines. These reconnaissance and surveillance planes will be flown by a U.S.–Filipino crew to survey and safeguard the Philippines’ vast maritime borders.”

With this plan, Uncle Sam is just making sure that their pawn or ally in this region is strong enough to face any external threats. And, that their shift from economic to strategic policy in this region will be easier because a loyal ally will do it for them. But if we will look more closely, Uncle Sam benefitted much more from such arrangement, economically – to fuel their war machine a.k.a. military-industrial complex and strategically by dragging us into a war that is far from the mainland US of A. Sounds familiar? Like a Pearl Harbor scenario. In the end, we are once again shortchanged.

When Washington announced their pivot to the Asia-Pacific region, their purpose of peace and stabilization in the region came out as the opposite. And now the region is a like a powder keg awaiting just a spark of stupid provocations and that’s it, we will all go to hell.

Still our politicians are preparing for the 2013 electoral circus which many pundits believe might not push through due to external conflicts. Wake up!

The Troika: Why Not by Erick San Juan

The Troika: Why Not by Erick San Juan

Now that the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has branded the Asia-Pacific region as the “engine” of the global economy, will the countries involved in the disputed areas in the region be sensible enough to ease the tension?

Last September 8 and 9 at the APEC meeting, “U.S. officials said, they would welcome a more active Russian role in the Asia-Pacific where territorial disputes, including between U.S. allies Japan and South Korea, sparked by nationalist rhetoric have fueled fears of conflict”.

Furthermore, “with Putin actively promoting Russian greater economic and strategic ties with Asia and hosting the annual Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum summit in much spruced up Vladivostok, Clinton is eager to hear what his "goals and ambitions" are and how they might complement U.S. efforts, particularly in easing strains that could interfere with oceangoing commerce in the Pacific…” (By Matthew Lee)

Representing US President Barack Obama at the APEC meeting, State Secretary Clinton cited that the “US is looking for Russia to play a greater role in the region as it seeks to quell growing maritime tensions.”

The idea is not bad at all if such move will benefit the countries in the Asia-Pacific region by reducing the tensions and concentrate more on its development. But knowing Uncle Sam, this can also mean something else. What could be the real agenda behind? Could this also be part of a divide and rule scenario? Just asking.

Russia can pivot to the Pacific, too.

Yes, in an article by Dmitri Trenin he explained in details the possibilities of Russia turning to the Asia-Pacific region. With the same title – Russia can pivot to the Pacific, too - he significantly cited that “Russia's hosting of the APEC summit has suddenly reminded quite a few people in the region that Russia has two-thirds of its territory in Asia, as well as a very long coastline along the North Pacific." This is a useful reminder.

Hillary Clinton's famous Asian pivot article in Foreign Policy last November last year mentioned a wide range of countries, but it omitted Russia. Discussions of U.S.-China strategy are now routinely held in Washington and elsewhere without any reference to China's northern neighbor,which is Russia (ESJ’s emphasis).

If the present Russian leadership will consider this opportunity of developing the country’s eastern part, the US-Russia-China triangle might help to neutralize this turbulent region and avoid the skirmishes turn to a world war. There’s nothing to loose if the goals are for regional peace and development that will benefit Asian countries in the process.

The possibilities are great and if this plan will materialize our country will be one of its beneficiaries if we will play our cards well. But sadly, the recent boo-boo on the so-called backdoor channeling issue between Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and Senator Antonio Trillanes regarding the Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal standoff was a clear sign that until now there is no clear foreign policy that is in place that will address such crucial matter.

It seems that the present administration is using a "band-aid" solution when it comes to foreign policy issues. This is a big no-no in international relations and diplomacy. The government must have a clear foreign policy that will address matters of international importance with firm clarity and determination without prejudice to other nations.

We hope and pray that the rift between our legislators will end and move forward in achieving goals for the nation’s welfare. If the US-Russia-China triumvirate in the region will help in any way to bring peace and development, I hope that the government will appoint the right people that will analyze the situation well and will possibly benefit our nation

We are living in very exciting times and in the coming month of October, there will be several military exercises around the world, one of which is between US and Israel which is highly militarized, highly provocative and highly unnecessary drill – the “Austere Challenge 12”. In the said exercises, Israel will test its Arrow 2 missile defense system while the US will deploy its Aegis Ballistic Missile defense system and PAC-3 Patriot Air defense platforms. Any miscalculation during such military exercises can lead to a mutually assured destruction.

God forbid!