Brown, Dale - Patrick McLanahan 03 by Sky Masters (v1.1) Page B
Authors: Sky Masters (v1.1)
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Mikaso’s strong popular
leadership, the military threat to the government from the extremist Communist
forces subsided, but the new, more radical voices in the government were harder
to ignore. It didn’t take long for a national referendum to be called after the
1994 elections, which forbade the President to extend the leases for American
bases any further. The referendum passed by a narrow margin, and the United
States was ordered to withdraw all permanent military forces from the
Philippines and turn control of the installations to the Philippine government
within six months.
Second Vice President General Jose
Trujillo Samar, who was not present at the ceremonies, shared the majority of
Filipinos’ distaste for American hegemony, and he fought hard for removal of
the bases.
Leaving, Rat Stone was out of a job.
Over the slowly rising screaming and
yelling from the protesters, the American airmen marched in front of the
reviewing stand, formed, into four groups of fifty, and were ordered to parade
rest by Colonel Krieg, acting as the parade adjutant general. Surrounding the
grassy mall were two sets of bleachers, where guests of the government and a
few American family members and embassy personnel watched with long faces the
lowering of the colors for the last time over Clark Air Base. Banks of
photographers, television cameras, and reporters were clustered all around the
reviewing stand to capture the ceremonies. While several network news companies
were on hand, no live broadcast of the ceremony was permitted. General Stone
had felt, and the Air Force concurred, that a live broadcast might cause
widespread demonstrations all across the country. That was also the reason no
high-level American politicians were on hand. The official transfer had been
made in the safety of Washington , D.C. , weeks ago.
President Mikaso stepped forward to
the podium as a taped trumpet call was played. The crowd began to cheer, and an
appreciative ripple of applause issued from the bleachers. When the music
stopped, Mikaso spoke in flawless English: “My friends and fellow Filipinos, we
are here to mark a historic end, and a historic beginning, in the relations
between the Republic of the Philippines and the United States of America . On this day of freedom and independence,
we also mark a significant milestone in the future of the Philippines .
“For over ninety years, we have
relied on the courage, the generosity, and the strength of the people of the United States for our security. Such an arrangement has
greatly benefited our country and all its people. For this, we will be
eternally grateful.
“But we have learned much over these
long years. We have studied the sacred values of democracy and justice, and we
have strived to become not just a dependency of our good friends in the United States , but a strong, trusted ally. We are here
today to celebrate an important final stage of that education, as the people of
the Philippines take the reins of authority of our national
security responsibilities. We are thankful for the help from our American
friends, and we gratefully recognize the sacrifices you have made to our
security and prosperity. With your guidance and with God’s help, we take the
first great step toward being a genuine world power. . . .”
Mikaso spoke eloquently for several
more minutes, and when he was done, appreciative applause made its way from the
bleachers all the way out beyond the wall, over the crowds.
The people clearly loved their
President.
But Teguina listened to the speech
and Mikaso’s praise for the United States with growing impatience and disgust. He
loathed the Americans and had always resented their presence. As for Mikaso, he
owed him nothing. He’d agreed to this hybrid coalition
leadership, the military threat to the government from the extremist Communist
forces subsided, but the new, more radical voices in the government were harder
to ignore. It didn’t take long for a national referendum to be called after the
1994 elections, which forbade the President to extend the leases for American
bases any further. The referendum passed by a narrow margin, and the United
States was ordered to withdraw all permanent military forces from the
Philippines and turn control of the installations to the Philippine government
within six months.
Second Vice President General Jose
Trujillo Samar, who was not present at the ceremonies, shared the majority of
Filipinos’ distaste for American hegemony, and he fought hard for removal of
the bases.
Leaving, Rat Stone was out of a job.
Over the slowly rising screaming and
yelling from the protesters, the American airmen marched in front of the
reviewing stand, formed, into four groups of fifty, and were ordered to parade
rest by Colonel Krieg, acting as the parade adjutant general. Surrounding the
grassy mall were two sets of bleachers, where guests of the government and a
few American family members and embassy personnel watched with long faces the
lowering of the colors for the last time over Clark Air Base. Banks of
photographers, television cameras, and reporters were clustered all around the
reviewing stand to capture the ceremonies. While several network news companies
were on hand, no live broadcast of the ceremony was permitted. General Stone
had felt, and the Air Force concurred, that a live broadcast might cause
widespread demonstrations all across the country. That was also the reason no
high-level American politicians were on hand. The official transfer had been
made in the safety of Washington , D.C. , weeks ago.
President Mikaso stepped forward to
the podium as a taped trumpet call was played. The crowd began to cheer, and an
appreciative ripple of applause issued from the bleachers. When the music
stopped, Mikaso spoke in flawless English: “My friends and fellow Filipinos, we
are here to mark a historic end, and a historic beginning, in the relations
between the Republic of the Philippines and the United States of America . On this day of freedom and independence,
we also mark a significant milestone in the future of the Philippines .
“For over ninety years, we have
relied on the courage, the generosity, and the strength of the people of the United States for our security. Such an arrangement has
greatly benefited our country and all its people. For this, we will be
eternally grateful.
“But we have learned much over these
long years. We have studied the sacred values of democracy and justice, and we
have strived to become not just a dependency of our good friends in the United States , but a strong, trusted ally. We are here
today to celebrate an important final stage of that education, as the people of
the Philippines take the reins of authority of our national
security responsibilities. We are thankful for the help from our American
friends, and we gratefully recognize the sacrifices you have made to our
security and prosperity. With your guidance and with God’s help, we take the
first great step toward being a genuine world power. . . .”
Mikaso spoke eloquently for several
more minutes, and when he was done, appreciative applause made its way from the
bleachers all the way out beyond the wall, over the crowds.
The people clearly loved their
President.
But Teguina listened to the speech
and Mikaso’s praise for the United States with growing impatience and disgust. He
loathed the Americans and had always resented their presence. As for Mikaso, he
owed him nothing. He’d agreed to this hybrid coalition
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