Editing Edward Lansdale (section)

==Post-War Career and the Philippines==
(1945–1954)  After the war, Lansdale remained in the Philippines, transitioning to the newly formed U.S. Air Force in 1947 with the rank of major. Stationed in Manila, he advised the Philippine Army on counterinsurgency against the communist Hukbalahap (Huk) rebellion, a peasant uprising rooted in agrarian discontent. Lansdale’s innovative approach emphasized civic action, propaganda, and intelligence over brute force. He befriended **Ramon Magsaysay**, a charismatic congressman, and became his mentor, helping him rise to Secretary of Defense in 1950 and President in 1953. Lansdale’s strategies included psychological warfare (e.g., spreading rumors of supernatural threats to demoralize Huks), economic reforms to win peasant support, and rigged elections to ensure Magsaysay’s victory, as detailed in *In the Midst of Wars* (1972), his memoir. By 1954, the Huk rebellion was largely subdued, earning Lansdale a reputation as a counterinsurgency genius. His work, supported by the CIA’s Office of Policy Coordination under [[Frank Wisner]], established him as a key figure in Cold War covert operations.