Pipol Power

Stephen Shalom makes an interesting comparison between the situation of Iraq now and the history of the Philippines. "What does the historical record tell us about the U.S. commitment to promoting democracy?" he asks. His article on ZNet explains that the U.S. is only committed to its own interests. That's how it was when the Philippines was annexed by the U.S. in 1898 (Interestingly, Bush summarized this last Saturday in his speech before the joint session of Philippine Congress as "Together our soldiers liberated the Philippines from colonial rule."); when Washington maintained two huge military bases and many smaller ones on Philippine soil and used them for military interventions in Korea, Vietnam and the Gulf War; when Washington stepped up its military and economic aid as soon as Marcos declared martial law in 1972; and when Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo brought back the U.S. troops to the Philippines, supposedly to fight terrorism. A quick scan of Philippine history tells us already enough to support Shalom's conclusion that in Iraq "one can expect a neocolonial relationship, one where the U.S. helps make sure that the Iraqis in charge support U.S. interests."