The US has a long and checkered history in the Phillipines, first claiming to free it from Spanish colonialism, through a previous Republican war of aggression, and then waging another monstrous war to make it a US colony. Perhaps 600,000 civilians were murdered by the US Army, and many tortured. (Drowning or waterboarding was a fave then too.) The war and occupation led Mark Twain to suggest that the stars on the US flag be replaced with skulls and crossbones. The US finally freed the Phillipines after WWII, but maintained control though vast military bases. Those were finally expelled in the early 1990s, but the US has been dying to get back to full occupation. Great to see the opposition to the latest war "games."

UPDATE The US Army adopted the 1911 Model Colt .45 because the .38 couldn't stop the "terrorist" Muslim Moros, or so it was said. Today the US says it is helping the Manila government put down the Moros, who still want their independence.