In the midst of withering ties to the United States, controversial Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte dared the CIA to try to remove him from power. He was speaking in his hometown on Friday to mark his first 100 days in office.
“You want to oust me?” Duterte said in the southern city of Davao, reports Channel NewsAsia. “You want to use the CIA? Go ahead.”
Considerable outrage has erupted over the new president’s violent crackdown on drug offenders, which to date has resulted in over 1,500 deaths at the hands of police and nearly 2,000 via unexplained circumstances.
But the dare wasn’t aimed at the United States, alone. According to Channel NewsAsia, Duterte was also addressing those in his own country thinking of rising up against his authority. “Be my guest. I don’t give a shit,” he stated.
“I’ll be ousted? Fine. (If so) it’s part of my destiny. Destiny carries so many things. If I die, that’s part of my destiny. Presidents get assassinated.”
Clearly, however, the president’s primary target was his Western critics, as evidenced by remarks he made regarding their intelligence — or, rather, their lack thereof. Describing how he would be ready with counter-questions if he were ever interrogated by Western officials, Duterte, in his typically inflammatory fashion, said:
If they are unable to answer, son of a whore, go home, you animal. I will kick you now. Do not piss me off. It cannot be that they are brighter than me, believe me.
As for the U.S., it may ultimately matter very little how it judges the practices of the Philippines’ new president considering Duterte recently signaled a desire to move away from Western dependency and cultivate relations with China.
In fact, on Thursday, in “the most forceful show of accord from a top official with President Rodrigo Duterte’s anti-American stance,” Reuters reported the Filipino foreign affairs secretary said in a Facebook post that Duterte is “compelled to realign” his country’s foreign policy away from a “shackling dependency” on the United States.
“Breaking away from the shackling dependency of the Philippines to effectively address both internal and external security threats has become imperative in putting an end to our nation’s subservience to United States’ interests,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay wrote.
In mid-September, Underground Reporter highlighted comments made by President Duterte, in which he stated that despite the fact he does “not want a rift with America,” all U.S. forces in the southern region of the Philippines nonetheless “have to go.”
Following those comments, Dr. Joseph Chang, an analyst, speculated that in addition to diminishing Filipino dependence on U.S. aid, Duterte may also desire to “improve economic ties with Beijing” and even “attract foreign aid from Beijing to the Philippines.”
Since that time, it’s become increasingly apparent this is precisely what Duterte has in mind. Not only is the president now seeking to build alliances with both Russia and China, but he’s also looking to wean his country off of military cooperation with the United States altogether.
On September 29, for instance, Duterte said the joint U.S-Filipino navy drills being conducted this week would be the last between the two countries.
“I am serving notice to the Americans, this will be the last military exercise,” the president said. “Jointly, Philippines-U.S.: the last one.”
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Since he’s getting people killed without trial, I hope someone DOES take him out.
He is the leader of a sovereign nation. Who are you or anyone for that matter to judge him on how he runs his country? The fact that you are openly advocating his extra-judicial murder in retaliation of his ALLEGED (the media NEVER lies do they, like Assad gassing civilians or Putin invading Ukraine, both blatant lies) speaks volumes on your character.
I agree. Glad you answered it’s vile comment.
This is tabloid. Libertarian-minded websites used to reject all forms of statist violence even when a genocidal “leader” gives the finger to puppet-in-chief Obama et al. Duterte recently said he would happily “slaughter” 3 million drug addicts and to underscore it said “Germany had Hitler and Philippines has” (points to himself). He OK’d the assassination of journalists and testimony has been given to the Philippine Senate that he ordered the assassination of political opponents with one person testifying Duterte personally “finished off” an employee from the justice department with a sub-machine gun.
He has the classic personality disorder of pure undiluted psychopathy…he has no boundaries …it’s all the same to these genetically diseased politician/war lords…where empathy is simply just an ‘idea’ in their minds…just as everything else is to those so afflicted.
….. rather than ‘Heart- felt’ compassion & concurrent sharing human emotions (imo)
Nail on the head, Eddy. The very top of the cap that feels nothing is cold and calculating, this guy is sadistic taking pleasure in the suffering – the whole lot Satanic leading the somnambulists through the gates of heII. Sad to read some police officers are rationalizing their death squad participation “We are ..angels that God gave talent to get these bad souls (drug addicts) back to heaven and cleanse them.” (Guardian 10/4) Milgram, Stanford prison experiment…the long sordid history of human civilization. Most Americans accepted the torture of alleged terrorists. I’m researching the simultaneous govt engineered rise of populist adoration for Mao in China (a deification) and Stalin in Russia in the past ~decade or so and was crushed to read in a poll 25% of Russians believe there was “a necessity” for Stalin’s reign of terror. http://www.dw.com/en/russia-contemplating-kgb-comeback/a-19564614 I’m starting to think this constant negative reporting of the dark side feeds it. We need solutions & healthy resonance patterns.
moderated again (lol)
must have been good! 😉 Brett posted a short comment about his deleted comments being a sign of what TPTB don’t want us discussing, I replied in a few words ‘that’s my experience too’ – then both comments were promptly deleted. LOL
If that is really what he is like, he is qualified to be a US President who all seem to be psychopaths with huge amounts of innocent blood on their hands. However, drug pushers are not innocent.
The rule of law is supposed to stop tyrants from doing what Duterte is doing. It obviously isn’t working in hiscountry and it isn’t working in the US.
I think there is some political incorrectness up in there somewhere…
The guy is psycho.
If that is the case he would need further education from the super psycho Hillary Clinton.
What or why is Lurch being paid. He is part of the unholy skull and bones. Lurch you are worhtless and you are fired. Pack your bags and be grateful that’s all.
SHEisDISPICABLE
This is the result of a bad history in his Country. Mindanao has been ripped apart by police actions and warfare against the indigenous peoples for centuries. First it was the Spanish and then the U.S.A.. These people where Muslim when the Spanish arrived and many are Muslim today. It is time to kick out the invaders and find new friends. Where is the U.N.?… NEW YORK!
Unfortunately, Pres Duterte is doing exactly what the globalsts want! But his language is quite entertaining and, frankly, i’m glad he’s calling them names that do describe them.