Posted on 12/21/2006 11:06:37 PM PST by Doofer
The United States military on Thursday (Friday in Manila) said it has canceled joint war games with the Philippine military after a dispute with Philippine authorities over custody of a US serviceman convicted of raping a Filipina.
A report on the New York Times said Admiral William J. Fallon, commander of US forces in the Pacific, said he also will halt aid and reconstruction programs carried out by the American military in the Philippines until he is confident the troops’ legal rights will be protected under the Visiting Forces Agreement.
Under the VFA, US authorities would retain custody of American servicemen accused of violating Philippine laws until the end of all judicial proceedings.
Last Monday, Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo and US ambassador to the Philippines Kirstie Kenney signed an agreement for Subic rape convict Daniel Smith to be turned over to the US embassy after a local judge ordered him incarcerated at the Makati City Jail.
According to the New York Times article, Fallon said he already had ordered the withdrawal of an aid team in the Philippines that was assessing needs of a typhoon-ravaged area and that he also had canceled a number of visits by American ships.
He said he also canceled the field exercise portions of the Balikatan exercises, which was to open in coming weeks and involve 4,700 American and 3,000 Philippine military personnel.
He told the Times that smaller segments of the exercise that involve computer simulations and classroom work may be allowed to proceed if the custody dispute is resolved.
“The last thing we want is to undo all the good work that has been done between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and ourselves, but this puts me in a real dilemma because I need to guarantee the safety of our forces,” Admiral Fallon said.
“I’m not the judge of the guilt or innocence of the individual. The issue is only one of custody. I am responsible to our people in uniform. I have to have guarantees that I can trust their safety to an international agreement," he added.
Kenney earlier said a court verdict ordering Smith detained at the Makati City Jail violates a VFA provision regarding custody of US military personnel accused of violating Philippine laws.
"Washington was disappointed because it wasn't consistent with the Visiting Forces Agreement. This isn't about the verdict. The verdict is an issue for the judges and the lawyers. That's not within the range of those of us in the embassy or the other government officials," she told DZMM.
"The [VFA] calls for Smith to remain in US custody until the determination of the case and of all the judicial proceedings. That is defined through the completion of an appeals process," she added.
She said that she is hoping the US embassy and the Philippine government would be able to sort out the issue of custody.
"We're working on this issue. As you know this is an agreement between our two nations [that was] signed years ago. We are not yet in compliance with that issue. It’s important to both of our countries. It's important to international credibility that both our countries show how well we can live up to an agreement like this," she said.
Kenney also clarified that the signed agreement between the US embassy and the Department of Foreign Affairs that was passed to the Court of Appeals last December 19 was not a new agreement or a petition.
She said the document was just a clarification about the specific provisions of the VFA.
"Judicial authorities all over the world ask for clarification and additional information. We try to provide that," she said.
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said Solicitor General Antonio Eduardo Nachura submitted the manifestation to the Court of Appeals to show that the Philippines and the US have agreed on the custody of Smith based on the VFA.
"The Philippine government is doing this to abide by treaty commitments," Ermita said.
Last Tuesday the Court of Appeals denied Smith’s petition for a temporary restraining order on the judge's decision to detain him at the Makati City Jail until the Philippine and US governments agree on a facility where he will serve his sentence.
On December 4, Smith was convicted of raping a woman now known only as "Nicole" inside a moving van at Subic Bay Free Port on the night of November 1 last year.
Wow, is this Bolton pulling this off? He's the only one I know that would be this hardcore. The Phillipines is going to pay a high price for not abiding with the VFA.
According to the New York Times article, Fallon said he already had ordered the withdrawal of an aid team in the Philippines that was assessing needs of a typhoon-ravaged area and that he also had canceled a number of visits by American ships.
May I also suggest bombing major cities! I like this Admiral Fallon. Finally, a guy with fire in his belly that stands up for American interests. Hope he's a Republican. Maybe we can run him for president. He'd know how to handle Iran.
We need more Admiral's like Fallon.
By the way if you don't recall the Philippines were suppose to be a staunch ally in the War On Terror and when some of their people were kidnapped in Iraq back in 2004 the Philippine Government pulled out their troops as part of the agreement for their release and President Bush hasn't had a direct conversation with the Philippines President since.
Admiral's don't cancel exercises and humanitarian add all by their lonesomes...
This came from high up!
Maybe President Arroyo saw even back then that allowing their troops to be picked off by Saddam's dyehard followers wasn't the smart way for them to go, especially in light of their tiny military resources. The Filippinos have a more pressing call anyway, they need to eradicate the stench of islamic terrorism that wafts through their own country.
This 'war on terror' is going to last for one very, very long time. The targets of islamofacist "terror", which is basically the whole world, are just too blind to see that it is islamic doctrine, beliefs and culture that underly "terror", and troublemakers like Osama bin Laden, al Zarqawi, et al, will always rise up to lead this bloody cult of angry zealots into perpetual war against the 'infidel'. It is that way because the doctrines of islam are doctrines of death, so any embittered Mohammedan with some leadership abilities who decides to wage war against good people will find a ready made, wild-eyed army of homicidal zealots just waiting to butcher the enemies of 'allah'. Islam, fashioned by Lucifer himself, exists to destroy peace on earth.
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