The EDSA Uprising was really the culmination of a US-orchestrated strategy to preemptively oust a hated dictator in order to forestall the ascendancy of the Left. The “uprising” of parts of the Manila-based middle class led by the opposition elite and rebel military men was an unexpected product of this broader strategy.
At this stage, Washington’s approach was one of “cueing in to initiatives pushed by the business class and the middle class,” which were seen as the “ultimate arbiter of the succession.” Nor was the end the overthrow of Marcos. Rather, it was to force him to share power.³ “Ultimately,” as Undersecretary of State Michael Armacost was later to describe it, “our role was one of helping Marcos reach the right conclusions from events and developments.
The State Department pragmatists had apparently come to the conclusion that an electoral victory by the elite opposition would be in the best interests of the United States. As early as February 1985, Ambassador Stephen Bosworth had cabled Washington: The AFP would be faced with a supreme challenge during the electoral process. At stake would be nothing less than the credibility of the AFP and, in particular, the honor of its officer corps.
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