Philippines

The United States faces the possibility of involvement in another Vietnamese-type conflict if it maintains its support of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, a member of the History Department wrote in an article for the upcoming issue of Harvard magazine.

Peter W. Stanley '62, assistant professor of History, wrote that the current Philippine government is a repressive dictatorship in which Marcos is using martial law to prevent the ruling upper classes from being ousted from power.

Stanley called the present situation similar to the series of events that led to the Vietnam war, adding that American intervention in the Philippines would inevitably lead to another long and fruitless Asian guerrilla war.

The United States should not back any side in the Philippine civil war, but should recognize the nation's right to settle its internal problems without outside interference, Stanley wrote.

"Filipinos have a right to work out--and, if need be, to fight out--for them-selves the scope of their domain and the nature of its government," Stanley added.