Waltzing With a Dictator: The Marcoses and the Making of American Policy

596 Pages·1988·34.661 MB·English

by  Raymond Bonner

“An outrageous and scandalous tale of intrigue, corruption,
hypocrisy, expediency, opportunism, negligence...
a gripping story.” —Washington Post
mnziNG
8
-
5
3
8
5
7
-
4
9
3
/
5
9
.
1
1
$
UPDATED WITH NEW MATERIAL
RAYMOND BONNER
Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2018 with funding from
Kahle/Austin Foundation
https://archive.org/details/unset0000unse_h4o8
tfn*
Praise for
Waltzing with a Dictator
“In this remarkable work, Raymond Bonner proves once again
that he is one of the best correspondents around and about.
Waltzing with a Dictator is a devastating analysis of American
foreign policy under administrations Democrat and Republican.
One thing is certain: Bonner is non-partisan in this explosive
expose.”—Studs Terkel
“It’s a gripping story and Bonner tells it in insightful detail. You
get to know all the good guys and all the bad guys intimately.
When it comes to judging character as well as performance,
Bonner does not pussy-foot around, especially with the Ameri¬
can players in this drama.”—Washington Post
“Raymond Bonner’s book is a superb piece of foreign policy
analysis based on investigative reporting and the examination of
thousands of documents.”—Christian Science Monitor
“This is a well-researched and candid study of Washington’s re¬
lations with the Marcos regime, over 20 years, and under five
American presidents, from Johnson to Reagan. . . . Mr. Bonner
is a patriotic American. He believes that Americans’ support for
right-wing regimes is self-defeating, being actually conducive to
the spread of communism, which it is intended to check.”
—Conor Cruise O’Brien, The Sunday Times (London)
“Far and away the most important, thoughtful and analytical
book out so far on the Philippines. ... an eminently good
read. ’ -Washington Times
“If you wanted to read one popular book on the Philippines
that would provide you with the broadest yet most detailed cov¬
erage, Waltzing with a Dictator would be that book.”
—Houston Chronicle
“Bonner takes his reader on a revealing, investigative tour. . . .
If you plan to waltz with a dictator, be prepared to face the mu¬
sic. That, then, is one provocative, strident message that be¬
comes evident on the pages of this timely reconstruction of a lit¬
tle-known era.”—San Diego Tribune
Also by RAYMOND BONNER
Weakness and Deceit: U.S. Policy and El Salvador
WALTZING
WITH A
DICTATOR
0 75 Miles
j
h rV-r1—1
0 75 Kilometers
South
China
Sea
Lingayen
Gulf '
Subic bay
Naval base
Subic Bay
Manila Bay
Palawan
&
^Zamboanga
O
Co---
0O
ff
The Philippines and Southeast Asia
?
WALTZING
WITH A
DICTATOR
THE MARCOSES
AND
THE MAKING OF AMERICAN POLICY
RAYMOND BONNER
VINTAGE BOOKS
A DIVISION OF RANDOM HOUSE
NEW YORK
First Vintage Books Edition, September 1988
Copyright © 1987, 1988 by Raymond Bonner
Map copyright © 1987 by David Lindroth
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conven¬
tions. Published in the United States by Random House, Inc., New York, and
simultaneously in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto.
Originally published, in hardcover, by Times Books, a division of Random
House, Inc., in 1987.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Bonner, Raymond.
Waltzing with a dictator.
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
1. United States—Foreign relations—Philippines.
2. Philippines—Foreign relations—United States.
3. Marcos, Ferdinand E. (Ferdinand Edralin), 1917—
4. Marcos, Imelda Romualdez, 1929- 5. United
States—Foreign relations—1945- I. Title.
E183.8.P6B66 1988 327.730599 87-40422
ISBN 0-394-75835-8 (pbk.)
Interior design by Robert Bull Design
Manufactured in the United States of America
10 987654321
.
il } .V v Si ||