True Left

OLD CONTENT contd.

What I like to see:

www.presstv.com/Detail/2020/01/24/616953/Baghdad-anti-US-rally

Iraqis have rallied in Baghdad in massive numbers to call for an end to US military presence in the country following high-profile assassinations and airstrikes targeting anti-terror forces.

Sayed Sadiq al-Hashemi, the director of the Iraqi Center for Studies, said more than 2.5 million took part in the demonstrations on Friday.

Since the early hours on Friday, huge crowds of men, women and children of all ages converged on the Jadriyah neighborhood near Baghdad University.

The protesters were seen carrying banners and chanting slogans calling for the expulsion of US forces.

"Get out, get out, occupier!" some shouted, while others chanted, "Yes to sovereignty!"
...
On January 5, the Iraqi parliament voted overwhelmingly in favor of a resolution calling for the expulsion of all foreign forces after the US assassination of Iran's General Qassem Soleimani and his Iraqi trenchmate Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.
...
The massive rally came after influential cleric Muqtada al-Sadr called on Iraqis to stage "a million-strong, peaceful, unified demonstration to condemn the American presence and its violations".

Sadr issued a statement on Friday calling for US bases to be shut down and Iraqi airspace closed to US warplanes and surveillance aircraft.

He warned that US presence in the country will be dealt with as an occupying force if Washington does not agree with Iraqi demands to withdraw for the country.

---



---

More of what I like to see:

www.npr.org/2020/02/11/804751958/philippines-says-it-will-end-u-s-security-agreement

At the direction of President Rodrigo Duterte, a fierce critic of the United States, the Philippines announced Tuesday that it would scrap a security pact that allows American forces to train there.
...
The U.S. Embassy in Manila issued a brief statement on Tuesday calling Duterte's move "a serious step with significant implications for the U.S.-Philippine alliance."
...
Duterte came to office three years ago with strong words for Washington. Among other things, he has said the U.S. treats the Philippines as "like a dog on a leash" and has accused U.S. forces of clandestine activities in the country. After assuming power in 2016, Duterte executed a dramatic pivot away from the U.S. and toward China, increasingly the dominant regional power. Renato de Castro, professor of international studies at De La Salle University in Manila, told NPR that the decision to jettison the Visiting Forces Agreement is part of "Duterte's desire to do away with the U.S., so there is no obstacle in his pivot to China."

Our enemies are worried:

www.strategic-culture.org/news/2020/02/15/philippines-want-the-us-out-not-alone/

The Philippines are located in the region of a potential Naval blockade, meaning that without them suffocating the Chinese from a naval standpoint becomes much more difficult and perhaps impossible.
...
this is not the only nation that is trying to or has successfully removed U.S./NATO forces. The Kyrgyz ended foreign operations in their country most of which used their largest airport in Bishkek. (On a personal note it was very odd and humiliating to see an international airport with more foreign military planes in Bishkek than civilian, there were also many accusations of bad behavior towards locals including one alleged murder). Surprisingly even the Iraqi government which was essentially built by the U.S. has asked their forces to leave the country after the assassination of Iranian General Soleimani. Even the Mainstream Media admits that tens of thousands of Japanese have protested against U.S. bases in other country (again due to alleged abuse of locals). However, the government of Japan has made no formal requests to have U.S. forces leave, but quietly the constitutional ban on having a real military is being worn away by Tokyo as it has seen its first round of military expansion in decades.

In order for the U.S. to maintain its global military presence it needs to take a look at cases in which occupation has been seen as a positive by locals – South Korea.

Which is why South Korea should never have existed.

---



---

Duterte the coward:

www.yahoo.com/news/philippines-suspends-abrogation-defense-pact-154110985.html

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippine president has suspended his decision to terminate a key defense pact with the United States, at least temporarily avoiding a major blow to one of America’s oldest alliances in Asia.
...
President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration notified the U.S. government on Feb. 11 that it intends to abrogate the 1998 agreement, which allows the entry of large numbers of American forces for joint combat training with Filipino troops and lays down the legal terms for their temporary stay. The termination would have taken effect after 180 days, in August, unless both sides agreed to keep the agreement.
...
“Do we need America to survive as a nation?” Duterte asked in February. “Do we need … the might and power of the military of the United States to fight our rebellion here and the terrorists down south and control drugs?”

“The (Philippine) military and police said, `Sir, we can do it,’” Duterte said.