Posted on 09/13/2003 5:01:08 AM PDT by witnesstothefall
MANILA, Philippines, -- U.S. President George W. Bush's visit next month "will further seal our pact against terrorism and poverty," Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said Friday.
Arroyo, one of Bush's closest allies in Asia, said Filipinos look forward to the visit "with anticipation and gladness," and while the expected eight-hour stop may be short, "the expected gains are undiminished."
"It will symbolize the conjoined strategic objective of the Philippines and the United States for global peace, security and development and continuing U.S. engagement in Southeast Asia," she said in a statement.
She said the visit will solidify the Philippines' economic partnership with the United States, its top trading partner and source of investment.
Arroyo said the United States is gearing up for post-conflict and rehabilitative roles in the southern Philippines, where Muslim rebels have fought for self-rule for more than three decades.
Officials are preparing for a resumption in formal peace talks with Muslim separatists, possibly next month in Malaysia. Washington has pledged diplomatic and financial assistance for the peace process.
Bush will stop in Manila on Oct. 18 en route to the APEC summit in Thailand, Philippine Foreign Secretary Blas Ople said Thursday.
The Philippine military and police said they are making security preparations for the visit in coordination with the U.S. Secret Service and FBI.
Ricardo de Leon, national police director for police-community relations, said intelligence gathering has been intensified, "but as of now, there is no indication of any threat" against Bush.
"There are many possible threats," said military Vice Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Rodolfo Garcia. "When the U.S. president is around, we expect all possible threats. He's a powerful world leader who has led the global fight against terrorism."
Concerns over security for Bush have intensified following the escape two months ago of convicted Indonesian terror suspect Fathur Roman Al-Ghozi from a Philippine police maximum-security jail.
Al-Ghozi, a self-confessed member of the al-Qaida-linked Jemaah Islamiyah, has been linked to foiled bomb plots at the U.S. Embassy and other Western targets in Singapore in 2001 and a series of deadly blasts that killed at least 22 people in the Philippines in December 2000.
The Philippines, a nation we once liberated, occupied and then left, knows well the merits of the work at hand.
...military Vice Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Rodolfo Garcia. "When the U.S. president is around, we expect all possible threats. He's a powerful world leader who has led the global fight against terrorism."
The General's ignoring CNN and BBC. Resistance is not futile.
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