3,000 Troops to be Sent to Combat Muslim Militants in the Philippines

Washington Post ^

[RCW2001]

Thursday, February 20, 2003; 6:41 PM

The United States is sending about 3,000 troops to join with Philippine forces in a major new combat offensive in the southern Philippines aimed at wiping out the militant Muslim group Abu Sayyaf, Pentagon officials said today.

The move marks the second time in less than a year that the Bush administration has committed a significant number of U.S. forces to try to root out the extremist group that has continued to unsettle the Philippines and target Americans in the islands.

Last year, nearly 1,300 U.S. advisers and support personnel participated in what was billed as a six-month training mission to bolster the counterterrorism capabilities of Philippine forces. That effort, which focused on the island of Basilan and concluded on July 31, was credited with killing or capturing some Abu Sayyaf members, but it also ended up scattering scores of rebels to other islands.

This time, Pentagon officials are describing the mission not as a training exercise but a combat operation with no pre-set termination date. Although Philippine forces will have the lead, they will be accompanied in the field by American troops that will remain under U.S. command and be at some risk, defense officials said.

[seams2me]

...we will root them out wherever they hide.......

[JeeperFreeper]

Based on personal experience hunting armed men in jungle is a very difficult job with a pucker factor of about 9.9. Good luck and God Bless.
Don't get me wrong, I'm for it and it'll work. Any one out there old enough to remember the war against the Huks in the Phillipines several decades ago.

[11th Earl of Mar]

Go Bush! Go troops!

[Libertarianize the GOP]

http://www.freerepublic.com/perl/bump-list

[Faith65]

Pretty soon........all of our troops will be gone......
great.......NOT! ........then what UN Peacekeepers here to the rescue.....I think not.......
remember after 9-11........NATO planes "watched" over our air space for us...........the end is near!!!!!!!!

[kellynla]

Philippines, Viet Nam...jungles are bad news...don't like the smell of this mission...God speed our troops! Semper Fi

[VMI70]

I think that this is a big deal that the Phillippines are letting us come in, especially under our own command.
I seem to remember that they had some specific legal prohibition against this very kind of action.

[11th_VA]

Here we go again ...

[VaBthang4]

"Our response involves far more than instant retaliation and isolated strikes. Americans should not expect one battle, but a lengthy campaign unlike any other we have ever seen. It may include dramatic strikes visible on TV and covert operations secret even in success." -President George W. Bush

[11th_VA]

BTW - Rainy season starts in March. You can march thru the jungle without being heard...

[Lion Den Dan]

Do you suppose this action will result in the U.S. Army re-adopting a .45 calliber pistol???

[Burkeman1]

I think that was 100 years ago- shrotly after the Spanish American war- and it was a brutal nasty war with atrocities committed on both sides.

[Burkeman1]

Actually- I think the .45 caliber was first adopted during the first Phillipines war 100 years ago.

[Steel Wolf]

I seem to remember that they had some specific legal prohibition against this very kind of action.

There are. Under their constitution, our forces may not engage in direct combat. However, self defense is authorized, as is accompanying the AFP on armed patrols.

I'm not touching you, I'm not touching you. Oh, you shot at me, now I can shoot back.

[Steel Wolf]

Army reports from the time showed that lower caliber handguns were not particularly successful in stopping Moro combatants. The .45 has considerably more 'stopping power', and was much more effective.

The Phillipine Insurrection was a very bloody affair. The local Moros noted that "Attacking an American is like setting off one firecracker in a link. They'll all go off if you attack one." The culture down there is unbelievably violent, the eradication of slavery a very recent affair, and they are known in the region as pirates, criminals, and bullies.

[Centurion2000]

Actually- I think the .45 caliber was first adopted during the first Phillipines war 100 years ago

That's true ... and most of the officers tried to go with a Colt .45 before the 1911 arrived.

[Burkeman1]

Yes- not a very admirable people from all I have heard- bullies- murderers- pirates- and thieves.

[zarf]

Why the hell do we need to do this? Doesn't the Phillippine army have enough troops for gods sake?