The US is the largest source of military aid and the only country the Philippines has a mutual defense treaty with.
While in the Philippines in June, American Secretary for Defense Gates promised more logistics for the war on terror that has been beefed up since 2003 by hundreds of American Special Forces advisers on the ground in Mindanao.
They may be banned from combat but there is nothing to prevent American soldiers from retaliating if fired upon. For the first time since World War II, American forces are on the ground, not limited to the confines of military bases but roaming the Mindanao countryside with Filipino foot soldiers.
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