Can anyone name America’s second longest war?

Most Americans are aware the Afghan war, which began 18 years ago this month, is America’s longest war. But hardly a soul can name America’s second longest war. At 14 years, 4 months (February, 1899 – June, 1913) it’s the Philippine-American War which resulted from the Filipino revolt against brutal US rule after grabbing the Philippines from Spain in America’s shortest war (April, 1898 – August, 1898). The Philippine war has been largely written out of our history because it represents a form of US genocide against the Filipino people, with estimates of those killed ranging from a quarter million to a million, most of them innocent civilians. To the US conquerors, the Filipinos were savages of color to be slaughtered ruthlessly so America could civilize them once they accepted our rule. US brutality was exemplified by commanding general Jacob Hurd Smith who proclaimed “I want no prisoners. I wish you to kill and burn, the more you kill and burn the better it will please me. I want all persons killed who are capable of bearing arms in actual hostilities against the United States". When queried as to what the minimum age for death was, Smith replied “Ten years”.

Though largely whitewashed from the US Story, a horrific remnant of that war was resurrected in the aftermath of 911 and George W. Bush’s War on Terror….water boarding