Posted on 07/19/2009 5:49:33 PM PDT by csvset
MANILA, Philippines—The military Sunday vowed to crush the extremist Abu Sayyaf group by the end of the year.
"We are confident we can handle this problem of the Abu Sayyaf," said Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesperson Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner Jr. He said the military will launch an "all-out effort" to defeat the al-Qaida-linked group responsible for the worst terrorist attacks in the Philippines.
Following the release last week of Italian Eugenio Vagni, the last of three International Committee of the Red Cross workers abducted by the Abu Sayyaf on Jan. 15, Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr. ordered the military to step up offensives against the terrorist group.
The military was apparently encouraged by a "cue" from Malacañang that there would be no political negotiations for amnesty to the group.
"We have received the final word that there will be no amnesty given to the Abu Sayyaf and we will take this cue from our national leadership to carry out an all-out effort against the group," said Brawner.
Sen. Richard Gordon, chair of the Philippine National Red Cross, earlier proposed an amnesty for elderly members of the bandit group but this was rejected by Malacañang.
The government has opened peace talks with a bigger Muslim separatist group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), but the Abu Sayyaf is not covered by the talks.
Citing Marine commandant Maj. Gen. Juancho Sabban's report, Brawner said "internal quarrels" in the Abu Sayyaf would help the military meet its yearend goal.
Brawner, in an interview over dzBB radio, estimated the Abu Sayyaf membership at 300, down from more than 700 several years back.
"Their ranks have gone down and while they have some new recruits, it is mostly young boys lured by the promise of monetary reward and the bearing of arms," Brawner said.
As part of the stepped-up operations against the Abu Sayyaf, soldiers will be more visible in urban communities in southwestern and central Mindanao. They will carry out road projects, medical missions and other civil military operations, he said.
"There is a difference between an all-out war and an all-out effort," the spokesperson pointed out.
"What we will do in the next few months is not purely combat operations but also developmental efforts," he said, adding that it was vital to address the root cause of terrorism troubling Mindanao.
A report posted on the official website of the US Pacific Command describes the Abu Sayyaf as "a cross between a chilling gang of bandits and a franchise operation of al-Qaida."
"Since the early 1990s, it has terrorized the southern Philippines with kidnappings, bombs and outright massacres; it has also been linked to several international terrorist plots and militants," the report noted.
More recent reports said the Abu Sayyaf, under new leadership, has been able to link up with the Indonesian Jemaah Islamiyah, said to be behind a regional Islamist terror campaign, including two recent bombings in Jakarta.
Lofty aspirations, and I truly wish them well.
Since the mid/late 70’s, literally millions of muslim Filipino’s have been employed by US and other companies offshore and in associated beach facilities related to the oil business......the bulk of them were muslim because that was preferable to the host countries of the companies/contractors. I worked over there, mostly offshore 1976-82 or so......these fellows I know of were typically riggers and mechanic types in the oil-rich countries, and they intermingled with the working-man type muslim arabs from the non-oil-rich arab nations also present in this milieu....e.g.syria, egypt, iraq, lebanon, “palestinians” with israeli passports, etc........my point is that very very many Filipino muslim men were ripe and present for radicalization for many years and carried it home to muslim mindanau and other muslim areas of the P.I.
GRRRRREAT rhetoric! After you finish that up, take the fight to the source.
The little groups of MILF and Abu Sayyef are going to the wayside with the new push by the Filipino government to recognize the peoples of Basilan, Tawi-Tawi, Jolo, and other islands on the Sulu Highway.
We also employ many in Iraq, along with "muslim" Paki's, "muslim" Sri Lankans, and "muslim" Indians. I haven't encountered one which would wish me harm.
It's not the religion- it's the reactionary individuals who are a part of that religion.
I think I visited their website once...
yes really.
“It’s not the religion- it’s the reactionary individuals who are a part of that religion.”
Jihad and Taqiyya is uniquely muslim.
Period.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.