"Together our soldiers liberated the Philippines from colonial rule." - W [View All]

From Manila, Today's History Lesson

President Bush stopped in Manila on Saturday to speak to the Philippine Congress. The speech was warmly received, though some eyebrows lifted when he said, "America is proud of its part in the great story of the Filipino people. Together our soldiers liberated the Philippines from colonial rule."

Actually, a lot of Filipinos think they had won liberation from Spain in 1898, and that "our soldiers" then fought a bloody four-year war -- against each other -- over U.S. colonial rule.

In the war, or "insurrection," depending on your point of view, more than 4,000 U.S. troops died -- about 1,000 in battle and the rest from disease and other causes. At least 16,000 Filipinos were killed in combat, and another 200,000 died from disease or starvation, according to a reference work called Warfare and Armed Conflicts. The Philippines remained a U.S. colony until 1946.

(other interesting bits on other topics)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61602-2003Oct21.html