James B Goodno
http://www.newstatesman.com/feeds/contents.rss/1919 en The movie
star and the lapdog http://www.newstatesman.com/node/147274
Observations on Philippines <p>Known locally as "America's
girl", Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the Philippine president, has
hitched her nation's well-being to the US president, George W
Bush. "In time of crisis," Arroyo said during a 2003 visit to
the White House, "friends do not ask why; they ask how." Like
Tony Blair, she backed Bush first on Afghanistan and then on
Iraq, sending a small military and police contingent there. She
also welcomed an expanded US military presence in the
Philippines. The two countries have a common interest in
quelling Muslim insurgents (al-Qaeda has had a shadowy presence
in the Philippines since the early 1990s) and US military aid to
Manila rose from $38m in 2001 to $114.5m in 2003. The US and
Philippine armed forces now carry out almost continuous joint
training missions.</p> <p>But in May, Arroyo faces elections.
George Bush's coat-tails -