US role in disastrous Philippine raid under scrutiny

US role in disastrous Philippine raid under scrutiny
Palau/Pacific News 10 Mar 2015 .

MANILA (AFP) — A disastrous raid on Islamic militants has ignited the worst political crisis yet for Philippine President Benigno Aquino — and questions about the extent of any U.S. role in the operation are deepening his discomfort.

Some Philippine lawmakers are asking whether the U.S. military played a leading role in the operation in January, which ended with 44 police commandos dead in a field in the country’s Muslim-majority south.

They point to reports that a U.S. drone was overflying the area at the time, and said to be beaming back real-time images to U.S. commanders as the fiasco unfolded.

Senate President Franklin Drilon, an influential member of Aquino’s ruling Liberal Party, is one of at least five senators to have raised questions about what the United States knew.

“Did the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) know beforehand about this operation?” Drilon asked the head of the police commando unit Getulio Napenas, who lost his job over the affair, in one hearing.

“Or any U.S. armed forces personnel, did they know about this operation beforehand?”

Under the terms of an anti-terrorism training deployment, the U.S. is not permitted to engage in combat in the Philippines.

More:
http://www.mvariety.com/regional-news/74562-us-role-in-disastrous-philippine-raid-under-scrutiny