ON ITS way to naval exercises with the Indonesian navy, the USS George Washington anchored off Corregidor and the highest brass-to-brass meetings between Filipino and American officers in years took place. As with all such meetings, the discussions surely revolved around whether American support for the Armed Forces of the Philippines is getting the right bang for the buck.

Last Wednesday, at 3:30 a.m., the military launched an offensive against an Abu Sayyaf training camp in Tipo-Tipo. Aside from civilians firing on the soldiers, some MILF guerrillas apparently joined the fighting in support of the Abu Sayyaf; other MILF troops tried to block the arrival of military reinforcements. The biggest number of military casualties came from an MILF ambush on Philippine Marines rushing to reinforce troops already engaged in the fighting.

MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu later admitted 10 MILF guerrillas were slain but said that it was due to the military’s “misbehavior” because their fighters were caught in the crossfire when they tried to prevent the Abu Sayyaf from slipping into their territory. Mohagher Iqbal, from the MILF’s peace panel, however, said the government soldiers strayed into MILF territory and so they were attacked; he also pointed out that some MILF guerrillas joined in the fighting to assist relatives in the Abu Sayyaf.

What haunts the imagination of the public is the mutilation of some of the slain soldiers – this desecration of the dead is forbidden under Islam and has horrified pious Muslims and angered public opinion; it is an atrocity that both Muslims and Christians abhor. In the face of rising emotions, we counsel sobriety: a resumption of hostilities in Mindanao could endanger our democratic project.

Considering that formal agreements and peace talks can instantly dissolve the moment fighting begins – with the distinction between MILF and Abu Sayyaf, civilian and guerrilla vanishing the moment the military appears on the scene – it is imperative that our armed forces ponder whether there is such a thing as an isolated offensive versus any single group. The collision of an ancient martial culture, tribal loyalties and the security of the state has been proven, time and again, to be costly to all concerned.

Was it prudent, then, to launch an offensive on the eve of peace talks in Malaysia? Did this military recklessness make sense? Only if seen as a way of proving to the Americans that the AFP means business – and is racking up expenses due to the fighting – and in terms of keeping the Philippine Marines and other military units the administration mistrusts bogged down in fighting so they won’t be affected by the new wave of scandals that show officialdom’s callousness to the poverty of the people.

And there could be more to come that may be used as a trigger for scenarios ranging from a regional or national declaration of a state of emergency, to serious threats and obstacles to the preparations for the 2010 elections.

The President’s amnesty for illegal firearms expires on October 31 and Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno has announced a “massive search” (for such firearms) nationwide, with 2,500 “police volunteers” deputized to join in this hunt in Sulu alone. Typically, Secretary Puno says “this is not martial law,” which only suggests people will most likely interpret the coming months’ search in precisely such terms. Which means they will resist. Could officialdom be preparing the public for just such a scenario?

The question is what could be the real reason behind these recent actions which we can only view as future occasions for conflict in Mindanao. Mindanao is being used like a pawn, and the first to be sacrificed are soldiers simply doing their duty – and dying for it. Grief-stricken families, instead of having their slain loved ones brought to them, were transported to Zamboanga so that they could be part of a photo opportunity with a President eager to erase her lavishness in New York by appearing to take charge in Mindanao.

Is this a PR war with deeper political objectives? That is the public’s concern and the troubling question at this time.