Return Our Rapist or Else ... We Do What We Like

[donsu]

http://www.counterpunch.com/cloughley01062007.html


The Bush administration announced on December 22 that it had cancelled a joint anti-terrorism exercise with the armed forces of the Philippines and that a US aid team assessing a typhoon-struck region was being withdrawn. Other aid was being suspended. Why the sanctions? Was Manila guilty of flouting international law and indulging in gross human rights abuses involving illegal imprisonment and torture? Or perhaps it had clandestinely constructed hundreds of nuclear weapons, like Israel.

Not quite. The reason for Washington's fury was that a US marine found guilty of rape by a Manila court was being kept in a Philippines' jail rather than being handed over to the US. According to Washington this is contrary to the Visiting Forces' Agreement which provides that American servicemen convicted of a crime should not remain in the custody of the nation in which the crime was committed. But there was no question of negotiation.

Bush Washington adopted its usual policy of instant bullying.

-snip-

Bush pledged to give the Philippines every assistance in his flailing, stumblebum "war on terror"--except when its government doesn't do exactly what Washington demands. When Manila dared behave contrary to US orders there had to be revenge. It is difficult to follow the thought processes of those who ordered the reprisals (especially suspension of aid to typhoon victims), but as usual they've spotlighted their country in the worst possible way.

-snip-

It is little wonder that the US is so detested and despised internationally, because this squalid incident in the Philippines is only one example of the insolent arrogance which Bush has developed into an obscene art form in the past few years. The instinctive reaction of the Bush Bunker has once again contributed to increasing the scorn and hatred with which America is regarded worldwide.

-snip-
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and the criminal neo cons flew Filipinos over to build the prison cages at Gitmo

and Filipinos work as underpaid slaves for the military/Halliburton in Iraq

and Filipinos are in our military - killing, dying and being maimed.

but we got our rapist back. now he is in our Embassy there.

[bluedeminredstate]

1. This is jawdropping.

Leaving the victims of a natural disaster to fend for themselves after offering aid and after placing people on the ground to help in the aftermath of the disaster is so inhumane as to be evil. Of course they had a warm up on how to treat traumatized, disaster survivors when they allowed the victims of Katrina to drown and bake in New Orleans for days on end with no supplies. And the reason for this cruelty, arrogance and bullying? The supposed needs of ONE convicted American rapist over the needs of thousands.

My God, these people are going to be the death of this country's soul if they don't get the hell out of our government.

:nuke:

[donsu]

3. yes, and they had 3 super storms in a row

nt

[MADem]

2. That's not the entire truth of the story, though. It sounds real dramatic, but it's false.

The agreement we have with PI is that we retain custody of individuals so long as legal processes are ongoing. The case is currently under appeal, thus, legal processes ARE ongoing. Should the conviction be upheld, back he goes to PI custody. You can read the Visiting Forces Agreement in full, here: http://www.chanrobles.com/visitingforcesagreement1.htm

It is spelled out quite clearly in Article V, Paragraph 6. The custody issue bleated about in this article is a red herring. "Completion of ALL judicial proceedings" means what it means. The verbiage in the agreement is unambiguous.

The US aren't saints in the entire history of their relationship with the PI, but they're right on this issue, and they are right to insist on maintaining custody of the individual until all judicial proceedings are completed. This is a mutual agreement between two nations, which was agreed to during the CLINTON administration, and both countries need to honor it. The PI had an interest in demonstrating custody of that guy, showing him in their jail, as an example, because the case got a lot of publicity in the country, but they were wrong to try to keep him while the appeals process was ongoing, because that is not what they agreed to. Assuming his appeals are denied, they'll get their shot at him eventually.

[donsu]

4. but the punishment meted out by the neo cons for not returning the rapish

is not JUST!

[MADem]

5. Look, if we had an agreement with ANY country about how our people are

treated, and that country disregarded it, we'd get mighty shirty with them mighty quick. It's what the State Department does. If you were held illegally in a country, not necessarily the PI, but any country, you'd want the US to lay down the damn law in your defense.

So, sorry, you are wrong. The US behaved appropriately. You give any country an inch, they'll take a mile. Maybe you might not LIKE this particular case, because of the nature of the crime involved, but what if the situation was different, and the person was you, and you were innocent of the crime that you'd been accused of? You'd certainly want Uncle Sam getting aggressive in your support. That is why the US, and most other countries as well, do not play when these agreements are ignored. And it's why we have these agreements in the first place. Had the Filipinos not wanted the US to take the retaliatory action they did, they would have followed the damn agreement that THEY signed back in 1998. The reasons for not following it were POLITICAL, you see. They had no impact on the actual "freedom" of the accused, just the location where he was being detained.

So sorry, I can't get behind equally corrupt officials in the PI playing politics, and then getting upset when the US insists that they uphold an agreement that they willingly entered into.