The Moro War: How America Battled a Muslim Insurgency in the Philippine Jungle, 1902-1913

by James R. Arnold

As the global war on terror enters its second decade, the United States military is engaged with militant Islamic insurgents on multiple fronts. But the post-9/11 war against terrorists is not the first time the United States has battled such ferocious foes. The forgotten Moro War, lasting from 1902 to 1913 in the islands of the southern Philippines, was the first confrontation between American soldiers and their allies and a determined Muslim insurgency.The Moro War prefigured American wars in Iraq and Afghanistan more than It was a bitter, drawn-out conflict in which American policy and aims were fiercely contested between advocates of punitive military measures and proponents of conciliation.As in today's Middle East, American soldiers battled guerrillas in a foreign environment where the enemy knew the terrain and enjoyed local support. The deadliest challenge was distinguishing civilians from suicidal attackers. Moroland became a crucible of le

Genres: History, Nonfiction, American History, Military Fiction, War, Military History, Asia

320 pages, Hardcover

First published July 26, 2011

Reviews

[Bob Cardenas · Rating 5 out of 5]

After decades of enjoying books on history it was nice to find a topic seldom mentioned, much less thoroughly researched, as the subjugation of the southern Philippine Moro tribes by the American military at the end of the Spanish American war.

Back in the first decade of the 20th century the Islamic Sunni Moros were still the unconquered subjects of Spain's 330 year rule, living as if it was still the 9th century. Their lifestyle accepted piracy, polygamy, slavery and the Koran of the 7th century.

Ignorant of Moro society and politics, the American military looked at the Moros as another tribe of American Indian savages to cowl into submission as benign imperialists. In truth they were overt racists with modern weapons, a Christian grounding and the unsurprising hubris of a modern power.

Arnold's writing is superior to the typical military historian's because he brings so much more to the story than accounts of the massacres conducted by the army. The cultures and societies of both sides, the diplomatic maneuvering and colorful personal stories are presented quiet successfully, underpinning the military expeditions.

Some parallels with fighting the Taliban are pointed out and at the end of the book many of the individuals lives are updated. Pershing (my middle school btw) was an enlightened, effective governor at the time, using diplomacy and patience over gunfire, for example. The Moros missed his reign.

[Bob Cantrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Forgotten Page of History

I had a little knowledge of this chapter in America's history before reading this book. So I was excited when I discovered this book. It was a well written book that was not a dry history book. It was interesting to see how the U.S. government handled a early cultural clash that is still being faced today. The clash is one between Christian and Muslim. I was intrigued by how so little has changed in this clash. Also how individuals on both sides of this struggle managed to reach common ground but only for brief periods of time. If you are a student of history or just like reading about our past then read this story of a lesser known part of that past. Then decide if it was a honorable event, a tragedy, or a foreshadowing of our future history.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

100 years later and we're learning the same lessons again.

[Dave]

The publisher preview tells you all you need to know about this jingoistic inflammatory piece of propaganda. Probably should be filed under fiction instead of 'history'.

[Rai Keyri · Rating 3 out of 5]

I agree that this is just a propaganda to US' war on terror/against Islamic jihadists/Al Qaeda. The author is somewhat biased because he didn't mention the revolution of the Philippines against Spain that happened before the capitalist-imperialist United States of America STOLE our independence and colonized our country. He even praised that those bastard Spanish friars were "great".

I give a high respect to Moros during those times for having the courage and honor of not allowing themselves to be colonized and be enslaved by foreign powers. These days, I'm kinda disgusted with the Islamic terrorist group Abu Sayyaf because its members bomb streets, abduct and execute innocent local civilians (even Muslims), journalists and foreign tourists, missionaries.

[Jessica - How Jessica Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

American soldiers fighting Moro rebels (rather unsuccessfully) in the southern Philippines in the early 20th century...

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

Do we need further proof of the truth behind the quote, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it?" An imperialist, chest-thumping American army struggles to occupy and control a faraway third world land of little strategic or resourceful value while fighting against Islamic terrorists among its native population. The details and casualties are kept largely hidden from the American public. Victory becomes ever harder to define, and an endpoint to the bloodshed seems impossible.

This happened 100 years ago in the Philippines. I wish the architects of the Afghan and Iraq wars had read this book. Or, for that matter, Vietnam.

An interesting book about an all but forgotten decade-long conflict in American military history.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Following the Spanish-American War, the United States fought the Filipinos in Northern Philippines and the Moros on Mindanao as it became a colonial power. The Moro War was an early example of guerrilla warfare that the US would come up against in Viet Nam and then the Middle East. Despite the lessons presented in Mindanao, the US did not learn from the experience. A good read about the muslim experience in holy war against Christians and about the men that would lead American forces during World War I.

[Larry · Rating 4 out of 5]

The United States fought a jungle war on Mindanao immediately after its victories over Spain and then the Filipino insurrectos led by Aguinaldo (itself a shameful episode). Between 1902 and 1913 the US Army fought a Muslim insurgency—one marked by brutality on both sides en route to an American victory. It is even less well known than the war against the insurrectos, so Arnold's account is useful, supplementing existing books (see "Little Brown Brother," for one).

[Loren · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting book on a subject that I knew absolutely nothing about. Well written and just enough in depth to provide a great overview. However its validity to today's struggles are rather limited but his conclusions on some of the trouble today within the Philippines and the Moros can be traced (and not in a negative way) to the US handing over sovereignty to the Philippine Government

[Stephen Boiko · Rating 4 out of 5]

US Army's first Islamic insurgency.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Learning the lessons of history

Military history, American or otherwise, isn't exactly my favorite but I nevertheless enjoyed this particular book greatly. As the title indicates, it's about the Moro War in the Philippines, a country in which I have a keen interest. The time span covered is about 11 years, and the author did a remarkable job weaving the various threads together in a gripping narrative, occasionally pausing to give background on important people. Overall, I felt like I learned a lot about Islamic society in the Philippines as well as American battlefield tactics, among other things. This particular part of history isn't talked about much, but there are some things that could be applied to our current situation in the Middle East, which the author also points out. Highly recommended for people who like military and/or Philippines history.

[Joe Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good detail book about the 11 years of US Army pacification of the Moros. The book is fairly neutral in showing the bad and the good by the oppositions. It is well worth the read to see how a counter insurgency can be won and the cost to do it right. The author is easy to follow and easy to read. I listen to the audiobook version and the narrator has a good voice as well.

[Paul A · Rating 4 out of 5]

James Arnold has authored quite a few books on the subject of American efforts at counterinsurgency and his expertise shows. He provides a nuanced view of this little-remembered conflict with a remarkably even-handed account of both sides of the conflict. "The Moro War" is an interesting and enlightening overview of America's first Muslim insurgency.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great account of a little known war. The account is less about a Muslim insurgency and more about a futile defense of a way of life that had been present for centuries. Command of the Philippine station was an incubator for future leaders (Pershing, Wood et al.) who played important roles in WWI

[Robert Brightwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story of a fascinating and little known period of American and Philippine history. the author demonstrates great knowledge of the subject and manages to present a balanced view of the events. A very good book that is fun to read.

[Jason Sands · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book about a forgotten war

This book is a great guide for would be counterinsurgents and anti-imperialists alike. Very readable. Gives little explored biographical details of some of the officers who would lead US forces in WWI.

[D. Ennis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the topic and found it a fairly engaging read. However, the writing could have been much better. Too many people or events brought up with no follow through.

[Harmeet · Rating 3 out of 5]

About US absorption of Mindanao, Phillipines in early 20th century. It was an interesting but largely one sided account.

[Edwin Canlapan · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading this book, i learned that the reason for the struggles of muslim rebels in the Philippines now, is the same with what their fighting for a hundred of years ago.

[bibliotekker Holman · Rating 4 out of 5]

The parallels between this forgotten 100 year old conflict and our recent wars is immediately apparent within the first pages. There is much food for thought here.

[Bill Howard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Understanding the events of today requires understanding the events of our history

James R. Arnold paints a clear picture of our actions in the Philippines at the turn of the 20th century. Our lack of trying to understand a people and their history and our willingness to slaughter men women and children to import our will upon them. After 911 we as a nation were understandably outraged. However now after the release of the Afghan Papers it is clear that we as citizen's only have the ability of understanding the quality of the information we are provided. Like the Pentagon Papers before it we continue to learn that our government leader's prefer to deceive the American public in favor of defence contractors and large corporations user the guise of Peace. When the real goal is securing a countries natural resources and expanding our market reach.
If we as human beings hope to turn the tide of Global warming we must try to find equilibrium among all. Our winner take all approach has driven us to the edge of no return. Please take the time to understand why we as a nation are still making the same mistakes now that we've making since the discovery of the America's.

[kevin browning · Rating 4 out of 5]

James Arnold's work on the Moro War returns a forgotten piece of history back to the discussions on counter-insurgency in American history. He writes a detailed account of the rebellion by introducing the audience to the Moros and analyzing the attitudes of both the filipino and Americans on Moro culture. He introduced us to well known characters like John Pershing and Leonard Wood. Both of these generals had different attitudes toward the treatment of the Moros and how to end the insurgency.
It is a definitive account of how America learned from it's treatment of Native Americans and how men like Tasker Bliss and John Pershing opted for nation building and diplomacy to try to end the rebellion on the Mindinao and Sulu archipelagos, rather than long drawn out military expeditions.

Most of the works on Vietnam and Iraq only briefly mention the moro wars. Arnold did an excellent job bringing to light the reasons for the insurgency, why it ultimately failed and what lessons we can learn from it. I'm looking forward to reading other works by him on counter-insurgency.

[Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Freely admit this book was probably just not what I personally was looking for. If you're deeply invested in military history and tactics, you'll probably find it more interesting. And there were some striking lessons to be drawn even from a general audience, notably how often the American military campaigns were driven by personal ambition and internal military politics.

I was also deeply struck by how clearly this was shaped by primarily drawing on American voices and American sources, with a frequently reductive and often Orientalist picture of the Moros emerging as a result.

[Grump · Rating 3 out of 5]

We were fighting the Islams back in old-timey times and it wasn't that interesting.

Similarities to Afghanistan and Iraq but seemingly less complex.

The Moros seemed pretty shitty.

The first Asian guy to get the medal of honor fought in this fight.

The .45 ACP was invented to shoot these guys because the .38 wasn't stopping them.

Dudes mostly fought with these squiggly-looking swords.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read several books related to the Spanish American War in the Philippines, the Insurrection that followed and the longer more drawn-out battles by the Moros. Most were written by Americans who fought there or drew very heavily on their accounts. This book is well balanced and describes the Moro Islanders and what their beliefs were as well the divisions that ultimately caused their insurgency to fail. I highly recommend this for anyone who wants to understand the relationship between the US and the Philippines or the place that the Moros hold in Philippine society.

[Edward ott · Rating 5 out of 5]

for eleven years a bunch of badly disorganized armed mostly with swords Moros kept thousands of American soldiers bogged down. this is mostly because of Officers who were more concerned about glory than actually pacifying the island of Mindanao.

[David Bradshaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

our islam adventure - military history

prv José Nisperos cmh receiptipant Tagalog bundok boondocks impentratable brush

[Todd · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of those history books about an obscure topic written so well that my interest remained high throughout. Recommended especially for those curious about America’s involvement with the Philippines.

[Bobby Daugherty · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first war America fought in a foreign country to help an ally.