The Burnhams (Hostages)
Posted on 01/15/2002 5:29:24 AM PST by truthandlife
Hundreds of American soldiers were due to arrive in the Philippines Tuesday to help local troops in their campaign to smash an Islamic terrorist group, which is holding a U.S. missionary couple and a Filipina nurse hostage.
Although the government in Manila has appeared wary of saying so, it appears increasingly likely that the Americans will be present during actual frontline operations, including attempts to rescue the hostages.
Some 660 U.S. troops will participate in what Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes called the first "realistic" joint military exercise in the battle against the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) on the southern island of Basilan.
About 160 of the Americans would be Special Forces troops taking part in field operations. The remainder would provide support and maintenance functions.
The Americans, who will be equipped with modern helicopters and sophisticated surveillance gear, will team up with Philippines soldiers engaged in the campaign against the ASG, a group both Manila and Washington has linked to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda terror network.
Reyes said the Americans would "observe and make joint assessments on the [Philippine Army forces] as the latter go out in operations."
The military would try to prevent situations in which U.S. troops would be involved in actual fighting, he said, but the visitors would be armed for self-defense in the event of an attack by the ASG.
U.S. and Philippines forces have been involved in training exercises before under the code-name "Balikatan" (shoulder-to-shoulder). But those war-games have been held in the north of the country, waged against a hypothetical enemy, and lasted for a month or less.
By contrast the "Balikatan 02-1" exercise will take place on and near the island stronghold of the ASG, use live ammunition, and last anywhere from five months to the rest of the year, "depending on the situation," Reyes said.
"In the course of this joint effort, we expect the Abu Sayyaf [to be] neutralized and the hostages recovered," he added, making it clear those were the key objectives of the exercise.
Martin and Gracia Burnham, missionaries from Kansas, were kidnapped from a beach resort last May. A third American taken at the same time was later found murdered, as were some Filipinos taken from the resort. Nurse Deborah Yap was seized from a hospital several days after the original raid.
President Bush late last year promised President Gloria Arroyo support in her government's fight against the ASG. Arroyo has been an outspoken supporter of the U.S.-led campaign against terrorism since the Sept. 11 attacks on the U.S. She has also spearheaded initiatives to improve regional cooperation against Islamic militancy.
Criticism expected
Arroyo spokesman Rigoberto Tiglao at a press briefing repeated assurances that the Americans would not be engaged in combat and would be housed in Philippine Army bases.
No separate U.S. facilities would be established he said, as the country's constitution prohibits the setting up of temporary or permanent foreign military bases in the Philippines.
Tiglao's comments reflected a sensitivity in Manila to potential domestic criticism of the reliance on the U.S., which had a long history of military involvement in the former American colony until a final troop evacuation in the early 1990s.
Arroyo's political opponents, leftist groups, and Islamic organizations are among those expected to question the decision.
"We cannot be playing politics here," Tiglao said. "It would be for the good of the country if this move would result in wiping out the Abu Sayyaf."
He expressed optimism that the government would get the necessary support.
"The U.S. has obviously extensive experience in going after terrorists and it would be good for the country if we get such help," he said. "We are confident that the majority of Filipinos would accept the U.S. help, within the boundaries of the constitution."
The type of criticism that can be expected already reared its head Tuesday, when commentator Paul Rodrigo, writing in Today, said he felt uneasy about the U.S. deployment.
"The spectacle of bringing in foreign troops to hunt down and kill Filipino outlaws is not one that does credit to a free country. If there is any fighting to be done on our soil, then it had better be done by Filipinos ..." he said.
"I have no quarrel with building better ties with the U.S., but this U.S. troop contingent is taking close ties a little too far. I think it would behoove this nation to be a little more circumspect at a time of an increasingly interventionist U.S. foreign policy."
Despite such sentiments, relations between Manila and Washington are the warmest they have been since the last U.S. troops pulled out of the highly-strategic Clark Airbase and the Subic Bay Naval Station in 1992.
Their departure had been the result of a decision by the Philippine Senate not to renew the leases on the bases, and led to a cooling of bilateral ties.
Only in 1999 did the Philippine Senate ratify an agreement which allowed for large-scale joint military training to resume.
See also:
Congressman Wants Philippines To Let US Troops Rescue Hostages (Dec. 31, 2001)
Heather Mercer and friend want to go back to Afghanistan. I say the Govt has some say in this decision, reluctantly, but probably prudent, considering the current state of affairs.
For anyone who hasnt seen the movie Proof of Life...rent it.
The Burnhams (Hostages)
Get that couple from Wichita back here pronto!!
They need to realize that their 15 minutes of fame are up and the public isn't going to be so sympathetic the next time these fools rush in where angels dare tread.
True, but this "Abu Sayyaf Group" in the Philippines has been a real pain in the ass for some time now. It is nigh time that these thugs are eradicated as a threat.
My guess is 10 days and the missionaries are free.
Pardon me sir, while I modify this statement:
No quarter to any of the Phillipine terrorists.
There..that's better.
A couple of years ago, a friend asked me to try to talk his sister out of going to the Philippines as a missionary with her husband and three toddlers. (I had done humanitarian work in SE Asia and knew the health risks for young children.) I explained the risks to the children, but they went anyway. I asked her if they had any plans, anything to offer the people (such as health or nutrition education)besides trying to convert them from the Catholic Church to the Baptist. She was so surprised. No. Just turn them into Baptists.
Sorry, but I just couldn't see risking the lives of young children in order to convert people from one flavour of Christianity to another. Jesus is Jesus. I don't see risking our soldiers' lives either.
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