Lessons from a Successful Counterinsurgency: The Philippines, 1899-1902

Abstract

should be the earnest and paramount aim of the military administration to win the confidence, respect, and affection of the inhabitants of the Philippines ... and by proving to them that the mission of the United States is one of benevolent assimilation, substituting the mild sway of justice and right for arbitrary rule. --President William McKinley 21 December 1898 The United States topples an unsavory regime in relatively brief military action, suffering a few hundred fatalities. America then finds itself having to administer a country unaccustomed to democratic self-rule. Caught unawares by an unexpectedly robust insurgency, the United States struggles to develop and implement an effective counterinsurgency strategy. The ongoing US presidential campaign serves as a catalyst to polarize public opinion, as the insurrectionists step up their offensive in an unsuccessful attempt to unseat the incumbent Republican President. These events--from a century ago--share a number of striking parallels with the events of 2003 and 2004. The Philippine Insurrection of 1899-1902 was America's first major combat operation of the 20th century. The American policy of rewarding support and punishing opposition in the Philippines, called attraction and chastisement, was an effective operational strategy. By eliminating insurgent resistance, the campaign successfully set the conditions necessary for achieving the desired end-state. After a brief review of the conflict, this article will examine the strategic and operational lessons of America's successful campaign. It will consider the belligerents' policy goals, strategies, and their centers of gravity. (While neither side planned their campaign using these strategic concepts, these terms will be used in analyzing the campaign to facilitate understanding.) Without addressing the considerations of any particular ongoing campaign, the article will identify lessons applicable for winning today's counterinsurgencies. In order to determine the relevance of the campaign today, this article will consider changes in the international environment that mitigate the direct application of methods successfully employed in the Philippines. To apply some lessons, one must identify alternative ways more appropriate for modern norms that achieve the same ends. Historical Overview Annexation Unfamiliar to many, the major events of the insurrection that followed America's victory in the Spanish-American War bear review. Admiral George Dewey's May 1898 naval victory over the Spanish fleet was followed in August by a brief, face-saving Spanish defense and surrender of Manila. Filipino forces had vanquished the Spanish from the rest of the country, but the Spanish surrendered the capital to US Army forces under Major General Wesley Merritt. Filipino forces were under the command of Emilio Aguinaldo, a 29-year-old member of the educated class known as the illustrados. Having led an insurrection against Spanish rule in 1896, Aguinaldo, the self-proclaimed President, was wary but hopeful that the American victory would facilitate Philippine independence. US President William McKinley decided to annex the archipelago for two principal reasons, one ideological, the other interest-based. He announced his decision to a group of missionaries, citing America's duty to educate the Filipinos and uplift them and Christianize them. (1) Like many, he believed the Filipinos were too backward to capably govern themselves. (2) The practical consideration in an era of unbridled colonialism was that a weak, independent Philippines would be a tempting acquisition for other colonial powers. Insurrection Filipinos were shocked when it became known that the Treaty of Paris provided for the United States to purchase the islands from Spain for $20 million. Buoyed by their success in defeating nearly all of the Spanish garrisons, Filipino insurgents under Aguinaldo attacked American forces in Manila on 4 February 1899. …