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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: KLP who wrote (49143)	10/3/2002 2:09:37 PM
From: Noel de Leon	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 281500

"Can you name a time when the US took over any countries land and people? EVER?" 1898: USA took over the Philippines. The following war caused thousands of Filipino deaths. Some estimates say a million. Between 1776 and 1900, the USA took over substantial lands from the Native Americans. You can check the death toll yourself.

To: KLP who wrote (49143)	10/3/2002 2:56:10 PM
From: Noel de Leon	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 281500

Here is a little history. A Brief History of the Philippines from a Filipino Perspective The U.S. Occupation (1898-1946) The first Philippine Republic was short-lived. Spain had lost a war with the United States. The Philippines was illegally ceded to the United States at the Treaty of Paris for US$20 million, together with Cuba and Puerto Rico. A Filipino-American War broke out as the United States attempted to establish control over the islands. The war lasted for more than 10 years, resulting in the death of more than 600,000 Filipinos. The little-known war has been described by historians as the "first Vietnam", where US troops first used tactics such as strategic hamleting and scorched-earth policy to "pacify" the natives. The United States established an economic system giving the colonizers full rights to the country's resources. The Spanish feudal system was not dismantled; in fact, through the system of land registration that favored the upper Filipino classes, tenancy became more widespread during the US occupation. A native elite, including physicians trained in the United States, was groomed to manage the economic and political system of the country. The U.S. also introduced western modells of educational and health-care systems which reinforced elitism and a colonial mentality that persists to this day, mixed with the Spanish feudal patron-client relationship. Militant peasant and workers' groups were formed during the U.S. occupation despite the repressive situation. A movement for Philippine independence, involving diverse groups, continued throughout the occupation. A Commonwealth government was established in 1935 to allow limited self-rule but this was interrupted by the Second World War and the Japanese occupation. The guerilla movement against Japanese fascism was led mainly by socialists and communists, known by their acronym, HUKS. Shortly after the end of the Second World War, flag independence was regained although the U.S. imposed certain conditions, including the disenfranchisement of progressive political parties, the retention of U.S. military bases and the signing of economic agreements allowing the U.S. continued control over the Philippine economy. found at www.tribo.org/history

To: KLP who wrote (49143)	10/4/2002 4:18:30 AM
From: zonder	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 281500

Thanks, KLP, but I have a fair "understanding of Americans and the US" by now. I have been all over the US, educated in the American system, in English, among Americans pretty much all my life. Nowhere have I said anything against Americans, or the US of A in general. My concerns at this point of time have more to do with the recent shift in the US foreign politics, as expressed in that article by Jimmy Carter that I had posted the link to. Yes, the US has a huge arsenal, and it had never bothered me before. However, allow me to freely express my concerns (shared by many people on this side of the ocean) about the current US administration that is currently presiding over this arsenal. These "notions" are not "preconceived", in any way you care to define the word. I am not a peasant in some French village with an internet connection, who, one day, formed an opinion of the US after watching several hundred Hollywood films. I am possibly as near as you will ever get to a foreigner who is neither European nor American, but who has quite significant experience in both cultures, and who has an objective viewpoint on both. So you (not personally, but as the board community) might like to harass me a little less and just let me express my opinion, which could and often will be different from an American's. If, as you say, "most of us are learning from everyone else here", than I guess differing opinions would be most welcome.