About Iraq
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost
Mr Hayden, often times US Government Officials have tried to use foreign policy success, as it relates to the Philippine/US experience, as something that is exportable to other Foreign Relations challenges. Case in point, Edward Lansdale's successful counter-insurgency against the HUKs in the Philippines was the template that was exported and failed in Vietnam. The "Philippine Option" approach as it relates to Iraq is likely a failure as well.
The Philippines, an isolated archipelago, was a Colony of Western Nations, first Spain then the United States (With Manila briefly held by the British in 1762) for over 350 years, This time as a Colony made the Philippines a cultural outlier when compared to the rest of Asia. In short, the Philippines didn't have many natural regional allies due to their Colonial status ... this has always played to the benefit of either the Spaniards or the Americans in their dealings with Filipinos, who are neither fish nor fowl, from the asian perspective, due to western influence.
The Huks of the Philippines, as has been the case for all communist movements in the islands, never enjoyed international support ... the Huks collapsed because they were isolated ... Likewise, the US withdrawal agreement reached with Manila was an offer the Filipinos felt they couldn't refuse, having no other allies to fall back on ... Iraq isn't in the same position.
Like the Vietnamese, the Iraqis have regional allies that give them a far stronger hand in negotiating with the US than the Filipinos ever had ... and Iraqi allies have oil with which to apply pressure to the US,
So as likely as the US engaging in some behind the scenes "Philippine Option" ... it could also be the case that an emboldened Maliki is simply telling the United States, "Get out"
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