Written by Stephen Lendman; Originally appeared at Global Research
In response to violence allegedly instigated by ISIS in the Philippines, President Rodrigo Duterte declared martial law in Mindanao, imposed military rule, and threatened to extend it nationwide to defeat the threat.
What’s going on? Why did ISIS begin operating in the Philippines? Weeks after taking office in mid-2016, Duterte blasted Western imperial Middle East policies, saying the Obama administration and Britain “destroyed the (region)…forc(ing) their way into Iraq and kill(ing) Saddam.”
“Look at Iraq now. Look what happened to Libya. Look what happened to Syria.”
He blasted former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for failing to act responsibly against what’s gone on for years – on the phony pretext of humanitarian intervention and democracy building.
He called Obama a “son-of-a-bitch” for his unaccountable actions – no way to make friends in Washington, especially if his geopolitical agenda conflicts with US aims.
On the day he declared martial law, he met with Vladimir Putin in Moscow for discussions on future military and economic cooperation.
Philippine president given red carpet treatment in Beijing, with both sides agreeing to resume talks on South China Sea (Source: South China Morning Post)
He seeks improved economic and military ties with China. Ahead of visiting Beijing last October, he said
“only China…can help us,” adding:
“All that I would need to do is just to talk and get a firm handshake from the officials and say that we are Filipinos and we are ready to cooperate with you, to help us in building our economy and building our country.”
“If we can have the things you have given to other countries by the way of assistance, we’d also like to be a part of it and to be a part of the greater plans of China about the whole of Asia, particularly Southeast Asia.”
He promised to cool tensions over South China Sea disputes.
“There is no sense fighting over a body of water,” he said.
“We want to talk about friendship (with Beijing). We want to talk about cooperation, and most of all, we want to talk about business. War would lead us to nowhere.”
He announced no further joint military exercises with America, saying he’s open to holding them with China and Russia.
Shifting away from longstanding US ties doesn’t go down well in Washington. Are efforts by ISIS to establish a Philippines foothold part of an anti-Duterte Trump administration or CIA plot independent of his authority?
According to a June 2 Duran.com report, retired Philippine military official Abe Purugganan claims ISIS violence in Mindanao is part of an opposition Liberal Party plan to undermine Duterte and oust him from office – citing information from a party whistleblower.
Below are the comments The Duran posted, saying:
“There is a lot of noises and chatters flooding the cyberspace, you got to use your discernment to filter all these information.”
“LETS PLAY FIRE WITH FIRE,” explaining “(t)hese are the exact words stated by Loida Lewis and her fellow oligarchs on a meeting months ago with Liberal Party members abroad,” adding:
Their plan is to use ISIS or ISIS-connected terrorists to instigate violence and chaos in Mindanao, wanting Duterte’s government destabilized and ousted.
If the information reported is accurate, it explains what’s now going on, likely to worsen, perhaps spread to other parts of the country.
Last week, Duterte said
“if I cannot confront (ISIS terrorists threatening the country), I will resign. “If I am incompetent and incapable of keeping order in this country, let me step down and give the job to somebody else.”
If US dirty hands are behind the ISIS insurgency, he’s got a long struggle ahead, trying to overcome the attack on him and perhaps Philippine sovereignty.
Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.
His new book as editor and contributor is titled “Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III.”
http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html
Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.
Yep, when I first heard about ISIS in the phillipines, the first thing that popped into my head was Duterte, and also that the ISIS operation WILL FAIL because 99% of the population is catholic(or some derivative of catholic/christianity). ISIS thrives in muslim countries because it uses the muslim/islamic faith to create more fighters. Going someplace where faith is something other than islam makes it extremely difficult to recruit, especially since isis practices a super hardcore variant of islam that does not allow outsiders to fight for them.
Anyways, it is obvious this is some sort of operation to destabilize duterte. It will fail. And in the end Duterte will be stronger and even MORE aligned with russia and china like what happened with turkey.
Vatican/SMOM/Jesuits is part of the Masonic Machina which is ISUS/Military Industrial Complex. This is ancient. …Goes back to Palatine Hill of Rome where Elite and Senate created controlled opposition to negate freedoms for the people of Rome. Ex…pay off guards, ….pay off foreign tribes….gates at night are overrun and part of the city. Senate meets to raise Legions to attack terrorists. …current political negotiations are shelved **….until the war is won. 911 and Patriot Act…with Patriot Act renewed by each President is similar scheme. Israel with its Talmudic BS and Jew controlled US media is not the Eye above the Pyramid On the US Dollar. The Illuminati /Masonic is historical to the Vatican as so to are the Bankers, ….IE Templar/Swiss Cantons. …Rothschilds. ….Venetian bankers. It’s a dangerous game which nations are forced to play… CIA was evolution of OSS Wild Bill Donovan….Catholic,SMOM,Jesuit. … Vatican Ratline Nazi into USA and South America. ….NASA,Nuclear industry,Military engineering,World Bank, IMF,Bank of International settlements. Nearly off the radar….few notice the real trending of history. Notice how the Ukraine Coup goes Fascist against Russia with Nazi units revived from WW 2. It’s Vatican vs the Russian Orthodox Church…..the generations vendetta.
You can bet the CIA and the US Deep State are behind the sudden build up of ISIS once Duterte had won the Presidency and it was apparent he was going to launch all out war on the CIA controlled drugs business and re – align the Philippines with China and Russia. Now it’s up to China and Russia to ensure he stays in power and that a new entente cordial remains and strengthesn between the Philippines, China and Russia to their mutual benefit and away from the war crazy US MIC
here with proofs!
Mostly has to do with the petro dollar and fractional reserve banking. That is the root of evil. Islam is right behind it.
Agree!
overcombinated. islam terrorism is for decades present in philippines. isi sent in dozens of countries its terrorists. according this logic america want ot destroy brutain and france, too.
SF should not allow such low-level articles on its site.
Does the fact that the CIA has always been the ‘enforcer’ for the criminals who control the US Government ‘s upset you Soloman? You may even remember the Iran /Contra affair that was exposed as a US Black opp.
before you blame somebody, put your pieces of evidences. to wuatch something is able 3 years old child.
Learn some real history that does not come from Hollywood . You may then stop deluding your self that you are ‘exceptional’.
here and now we are discussing abou isis in philippines.
Oh, before I forget, please learn to spell and construct a sentence. If English is not your first language, Yiddish will do, but do please cease using Gibberish.
fuck your mother dascistic moron!
I do enjoy to see a Zionist in a temper. They always revert to type and use foul language :)
Cmon. Everyone knows the CIA interferes in most countries around the world. They trained and supported the mujaheddin in Afghanistan during the Russian invasion from 1979 to 1989. Even Zbignew Brezinski admits it in his book. What a worthless swine he was. And says the cost was worth it. And would make the same decision again. Of course none of his children died from the hell they unleashed. Just shows you how deranged the leaders in the USA are. And they never have to suffer the consequences of their decisions. And often become wealthy in the process of destroying other countries. America needs to focus on America only for a few decades. We should only attack countries that attack us first.
bullshit! these isis terrorst suerely did not send usa. discussion over!
Wherever the terrorists, ISIS etc show up one can safely assume that the US is behind it. US is digging a deep grave for itself and a lot of nations are more than willing to bury the US.
Remember Isis can only show up where Islam is practiced though. Start banning Islam and the world will change for the better. All religions are whack
The author lost me when he talked about spreading of the insurgency to other parts of the Philippines. The southern island Mindanao has had a Muslim insurgency for ages, but in the rest of the country there hardly are any Muslims. The kind of insurgency they tend to have there is communist.
Yup. Let Islam show up and all hell breaks loose.
Stephen Lendman is a fool.
Ew, what is this, InfoWars?
Seems to me ISIS is a franchise. In the country targeted, the CIA will locate local opposition, instruct and supply them, give them ISIS insignia to display in prominent places, lots of money, embed private military contrators in their ranks, etc… I do have a sneaking suspicion that Duterte’s outrageoius nehavior was part of the plot. This surely means that he is not the loose cannon he made out to be, but toally controled by we know who, and he’s totally betrayed his country. As in: he is instructed to do and say outrageous things and crack down on the drug mafias, so that it appears natural when domestic resistance mounts. Then this… The target is China, they are crawling up on China via the Philippines (and S. Korea).
Spot on about the process. Not sure about Duterte being a stooge. People love him on the whole for bringing crime rate down. But US doesn’t. My feeling is they are trying to do “Libya” for Philippines, let the place descend into chaos. If that is achieved it will territorially fracture and warlords can take over various islands. CIA would love nothing more than that kind of pandemonium. ISUS would take a part, Free Philippine Army another and Hayat Tahrir al Phuck would take yet another. A failed state would serve as a launching pad and a training ground for hundreds of thousands of insurgents – cannon fodder for the new world order oligarchs who are insane and addicted to violence. There is nothing spontaneous about this.
Well, then at least Duterte is bona fide. This gives hope. China could aid him against the “insurgents.”
I think duterte is controlled. He makes too much noise. And Abu sayyaf isn’t criminal? Now they are isis? So declare martial law. That’s enough evidence I need to dislike him.and not trust him
Because President Rodrigo Duterte is not a lapdog of USA, Inc.