Tuesday, June 26, 2007

From Yamashita to the Abu Sayyaf

I met a really impressive guy yesterday evening - Admiral Timothy J. Keating, Commander of the U.S. Pacific Command. This is a photo from the front page of today's Philippine Star showing him touring an abandoned Abu Sayyaf stonghold in Jolo, Sulu together with U.S. Ambassador Kristie Kenney yesterday morning.

That same evening, they were both back in Manila at a reception in his honor at the U.S. Embassy. The second picture is of the Admiral and the Ambassador, flanked by the Japanese Ambassador, MRP and T.

Ambassador Kenney told us how the mud was so thick in Jolo that she had to take off her boots and walk barefoot to their plane. They arrived at 5 P.M. then somehow found time to shower, get dressed and get to the Embassy on time. (It looks like the Admiral had more stuff to put on!)

The reception was held at the "Chick" Parsons ballroom of the U.S. Embassy. It's an historic setting. After WWII, General Yamashita was tried and convicted of war crimes in the ballroom. Lee McClenny of the U.S. Embassy explained that it was one of the few structures in Manila left standing and where a war crimes trial could be held.

Lee also told T and I about Chick Parsons. He was an interesting fellow, with over 932,000 Google results. In the pre-Internet era, among other things he worked as a spy in Manila. General Douglas MacArthur called him "the bravest man I know."

Adm. Keating gave a short talk about the U.S.'s determination to win the war on terror. Whether one agrees with G.W. Bush's policies or not, it is admirable to see the dedication of these military men. It's not his job to question politics. He's been given orders and he's gonna carry them out.

It also gave me pause to think - the U.S. has been fighting wars in the Philippines for over a hundred years - from Aguinaldo to Yamashita to the Abu Sayyaf. That alone makes me wonder how long they will be in Iraq.

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