Why aren't we shocked?

This is an op/ed piece on the revolt in the Philippines, very interesting reading re the accusation that the Philippine govt bombed it's own citizens and the US's part in it.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20030820/COKLEIN20/TPColumnists/

snip

Though the soldiers' tactics were widely condemned in the Philippines, there was widespread recognition in the press, and even inside the military, that their claims were "valid and legitimate," as retired Navy Captain Danilo Vizmanos put it to me.

snip

Besides, the soldiers were not the first to accuse the Philippine government of bombing its own people. Days before the mutiny, a coalition of church groups, lawyers and NGOs launched a "fact-finding mission" to investigate persistent rumours that the state was involved in the Davao explosions. It is also investigating the possible involvement of U.S. intelligence agencies.

These suspicions stem from a bizarre incident on May 16, 2002, in Davao. Michael Meiring, a U.S. citizen, allegedly detonated explosives in his hotel room, injuring himself badly. While recovering in the hospital, Mr. Meiring was whisked away by two men, who witnesses say identified themselves as FBI agents, and flown to the United States. Local officials have demanded that Mr. Meiring return to face charges, to little effect. BusinessWorld, a leading Philippine newspaper, has published articles openly accusing Mr. Meiring of being a CIA agent involved in covert operations "to justify the stationing of American troops and bases in Mindanao."

Yet the Meiring affair has never been reported in the U.S. press. And the mutinous soldiers' incredible allegations were no more than a one-day story. Maybe it just seemed too outlandish: an out-of-control government fanning the flames of terrorism to pump up its military budget, hold onto power and violate civil liberties.

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"Yet the Meiring affair has never been reported in the U.S. press"

Thanks for posting this. I'm going to start paying attention to what's happening in the Philippines.

Our administration should come up with some garden-variety dribble to lie to us with regarding why the FBI (or CIA posing as FBI) swooped down and scooped Mr. Meiring up out of a hospital on Mindanao.

This all goes back to the cognitive disconnect most Americans have with this administration and our "foreign entanglements." There are three camps of belief regarding this: The liberal camp believes that events like this are evidence of probable bad-doings by the administration; the moderates are beginning to believe the administration doesn't have a good grasp on things but won't believe that the adminstration is this far off the deep end, and the conservatives will believe that if he was a CIA agent then he was there for a good reason and that's it.

Most people just don't want to believe that the administration of their country is capable of being involved with such nefarious goings-on. And no matter how much evidence you give them to support the case that these things are happening, their strong disbelief generates a cognitive disconnect with reality.