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1. The First Operation Phoenix: U.S. Colonial Policing in the Philippines and the Blood of Empire
- University of Massachusetts Press
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Chapter 1 The First Operation Phoenix u.s. Colonial Policing in the Philippines and the Blood of Empire To be outnumbered, always, to be outfought, never. - Philippines constabulary slogan, early 19005 The history of the American occupation of the Philippines is in large measure the history of the Philippines constabulary-for it was this force of native infantry that applied the finishing touches of civilization to a jungle land that had known no law. - VIC H URLEY, Jungle Patrol, 1938 "Let any critic try the nerve-racking sport of hunting well-armed babaylanes, pulajanes, Moros or ... ladrones [euphemisms for guerrilla bandits] before he censures the constabulary for firing quickly- and to k.ill:'1 So wrote the soldier of fortune John R. White in Bullets and Bolos: Fifteen Years in the Philippine Islands, his 1928 account of his tenure with the Philippines constabulary. Written as an adventure tale and a homily on the gallantry of American fighting forces, White's book was characteristic of its time in its favorable reference to Kipling and the "white man's burden:' Furthermore, it exemplifies the importance of the police constabulary to U.S. imperial strategy. After invading the islands in 1899 shortly after the Philippines declared itself an independent republic, the American military engaged in a systematic campaign to wipe out the nationalist movement, culminating in orders by General Jacob Smith to turn the rebellious Samar province into a "howling wilderness.'" Foreshadowing by nearly seventy years the Nixon doctrine strategy of "using Asian boys to fight Asian boys:' the governing commission created an indigenous constabulary to complete the pacification. Modern weaponry and equipment were provided, training academies were established, penal reforms were initiated, and a surveillance apparatus was developed, using new technologies that were a product ofthe information revolution. Building on the model ofthe British police in India and American practice toward the Native Americans, the subcontracting of counterinsurgency enabled policymakers to fulfill their imperial ambitions at minimal cost and to quell public dissent spearheaded by 21 the Anti-Imperialist League. Since its constabulary operations were kept secret, the identity of the United States as an anti-imperialist power was furthermore preserved.' During the Vietnam War, over a halfcentury after the Philippines constabulary took shape, Pentagon analysts were still heralding its accomplishments.' Roger Hilsman, assistant secretary of state for Far Eastern affairs in the early 1960s, characterized it as crucial in the waging of "one of the most successful counterguerrilla campaigns in history" and a prototype for ongoing efforts to contain the spread of revolutionary nationalism across the developing world. Prior to the formation of the constabulary, "the army tried to fight the guerrillas , but with little success:' he wrote, "the enemy faded into the jungle, and the unwieldy regular units were too burdened with equipment, too slow.... Finally, the United States found the solution... recruiting native Filipinos, men wise to jungle ways who knew the mountains and trails like their own back yard:" These comments provide a clear explanation of the purpose behind the police programs, which remained unchanged across the decades. They also suggest a selective memory in ignoring the violence associated with the constabulary's exploits, replicated again and again among its offspring. Creating a Modern Surveillance State: Police Training, Nation-Building, and the "Civilizing Mission" in the Philippines Although the United States had been an expansionist empire from its founding, the colonization of the Philippines at the turn of the twentieth century was a pivotal point, marking the beginning of the nation's rise to global dominance. Building on the foundation of its seizure of Hawaii, the conquest of the Philippines was to provide a beachhead in the Asia-Pacific and a steppingstone to the fabled China market. Senator Albert Beveridge asserted before Congress: "The power that rules the Pacific . . . is the power that rules the world. And, with the Philippines, that power is and will forever be the American Republic:'6 Relying on the collaboration ofWesternized elites (the illustrados), the governing commission, headed by future president William Howard Taft, presided over a grand nation-building experiment designed to legitimate colonial rule. Technical advisers worked to extend Western technology, built roads, infrastructure , and schools, and promoted better hygienic standards and public health. By supporting free trade and removing legal barriers to corporate landownership , the commission also sought to stimulate foreign investment. The ultimate aim was to lift the Filipinos up from their "primitiveness" through the import ofWestern mores and Christianization.7 While influenced by progressivism and its emphasis on...