Read Online Rebels of Mindanao by Tom Anthony - Free Book Online

was aware that on this specific mission actions would be taken without the involvement of the CIA.
    Thornton, surprised to have been called by his first name, waited to consider what to tell the ambassador, then gave a short report. “The word is out that U.S. Special Forces are moving into the Davao City metro area proper. Olive drab trucks are obvious driving around town. This will send a bad message.”
    â€œThat’s not true! Our troops are assigned to Zamboanga only. The trucks you see were gifts from us to the Philippine Army. We know better than to upset the most stabilizing influence in Mindanao, Mayor Fuentes.”
    The ambassador asked to change places with Hargens and spoke directly into Thornton’s ear, visibly upset. “If Mayor Fuentes is embarrassed and can’t keep that city quiet, all of Mindanao could erupt. We’ll have a chain of dominos fall if Davao City heats up and the NPA moves in. It would be real civil war—an excuse for the Muslims in the western part of the island to band together, and it could upset the entire strategic direction of our foreign policy.”
    â€œMayor Fuentes will have more than just a lot of headaches trying to hold down Muslim discontent.” Thornton could tell the ambassador the truth; he had no agenda to hide. “He might not survive himself.”
    Ambassador Richardson was plainly concerned about how the American involvement had been reported in the Mindanao press and wanted to change the message. “I will make a forceful statement to the press.” He was getting testy, but his irritation wasn’t directed solely at Thornton, who just happened to be handy.
    â€œBig deal, Mr. Ambassador,” Thornton answered him anyway. “Maybe you could get the Manila papers, the
Star
, the
Inquirer
, and others to print your press releases, but so what? Few people in Mindanao read those papers, except me and a maybe a few other expats. Mindanao cares little about news from Manila.”
    â€œYour suggestion, Mr. Thornton?” Richardson asked, calming down.
    â€œUse Wolfgang Moser, a guy I know in Davao City, as your vehicle. He writes a daily local news column for the
Mindanao Times
, the same local paper that printed the reports you are aware of. He also has his own radio program. He’s lived fourteen years in Davao City and can get the word out to those who’re not convinced; he has real credibility partly because he’s not an American. He’s an Austrian citizen now, and a foreign correspondent for the
Kurier
out of Vienna, to boot.”
    The Ambassador called in his Public Information Officer, introduced Thornton to her, and told her to direct specific news releases to Moser. By the next week Moser would be reporting a whole new version of the news, starting his news segments with “In a statement issued today by the U.S. Embassy … ” This would be the first time
The Mindanao Times
or its sister radio station had had direct news from the U.S. perspective to report.
    The ambassador’s action relaxed the tension around the room, and by 6:00 AM only Liu and Thornton on the Army side and Philippinecongressmen Galan, Zobrado and Dureza from the Navy were still present, their coffees now cold and the game over.
    It was Galan’s turn to issue an invitation. “Will you grunts be joining us for breakfast? General? Thornton? Colonel Liu?”
    â€œSure, Navy won, they buy, right?” Hargens saw an opportunity to talk privately to the ranking civilian in the Philippine defense hierarchy. “Martin, this might be a great time to talk.”
    The Navy guys’ choice for breakfast was the Bayview Hotel, near the embassy. It was only about 300 meters across the street, but everyone rode there in their chauffeured cars with bodyguards. Manila by night or near dawn is an even dirtier city than usual. The early morning beggars were just waking up, and the semi-pro prostitutes were almost