
The History of American Surveillance - pmcpinto
https://www.revealnews.org/article/the-secret-history-of-american-surveillance/
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MichaelMoser123
The BBC says that phone calls were also first tracked in Iraq in 2005 during
the surge, and that this technique was then brought to the US in 2006; that
would be somehow similar with the story of the Philippines as playground for
new surveillance techniques.

[http://www.bbc.com/news/world-22804547](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-22804547)

looks like a pattern: the trick is introduced in some far away colony where
judicial oversight is weaker, in the colonies it turns out to be a big
success; the success story is then used to sell the same trick at home.

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x5n1
Sounds like exactly what Noam Chomsky described in Manufactured Consent. Same
tools perfected in war and brought back and used at home.

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heroprotagonist
I wouldn't mind seeing sources for some of the theories posited here. For
example, I searched briefly for other sites that mention William Howard Taft's
use of blackmail and wasn't able to find any. It wasn't an exhaustive search,
to be sure, but the lack of information reduces credibility in my eyes.

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Estragon
He was overseeing America's counterinsurgency operations in the Phillipines.
Of course there was blackmail involved.

    
    
        MacArthur declared martial law and implemented General Order 100, a
        Civil War-era directive on the law of war that, among other tough
        provisions, subjected combatants not in uniform, and their supporters,
        to execution. This program forced civilians to take sides and served
        to increasingly isolate guerillas from popular support.
        
        The United States employed collective punishments that involved
        families and communities.22 Municipal officials or principales were
        held responsible for events that occurred in their towns. Prisoners
        were held until they—or family or friends—provided information,
        weapons, or both. Crops, buildings, and other property could be
        confiscated or destroyed as punishment.  General Order 100 lifted some
        restrictions on courts, resulting in more prisoners being executed.
        
        When General Order 100 was implemented, it was proclaimed in English,
        Spanish, and Tagalog. It clarified that civic works were a secondary
        priority to “punitive measures against those who continued to
        resist.”29 Over time, information operations convinced an increasing
        number of Filipinos that their interests were best served by the
        American administration and not the principales
        
        The weapon collection policy also merits a mention. When implemented
        in 1899, a 30-peso bounty was initially a dismal failure, with only a
        few dozen weapons turned in nationwide. By 1901, when coupled with
        other successful pacification policies, it was common for hundreds of
        rifles to be surrendered by disbanding insurgent groups. The lesson is
        that any given tactic, technique, or procedure employed in isolation
        may fail, but as part of a comprehensive mix of carrots and sticks can
        be part of an effective program.

~~~
wespad
Source, Lessons from a Successful Counterinsurgency: The Philippines,
1899-1902, by Timothy K. Deady

[http://strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pubs/parameters/Ar...](http://strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pubs/parameters/Articles/05spring/deady.pdf)

