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)
They're making a list,
checking it twice,
gonna find out who's gonna be food for the mice
Delta Force is coming to town...
Maybe DFU can help finish this off...
It's true, it's just that most of the kidnapees are Filipino christians. These Abu Sayyef thugs get off on blowing up churches and terrorizing civilians. There's a filipino nurse that the islamothugs took hostage also, but she's overshadowed by the Burnhams because she's not american. Whether or not this is a matter for the Phillipines to handle, well, you have to consider what our enemies are doing....are they placing such restrictions on themselves? Do a google search on "Abu Sayyef" and you should be well on your way. Do one on "Sudanese Christians" too...you'll see a pattern developing.
"The missionaries decided to risk their lives to convert Catholics to Baptists, and they knew the danger and accepted that risk. Converting Catholics to Baptists is not in our national interest, has nothing to do with the defense of our country."
I see what you're saying, but is that necessarily the focus of their presence there? Or are they just trying to be good samaritans and help those less fortunate? If we start attacking the islamist nazis where they breed, it's going to send a clear message to them that terrorist actions are going to come with a higher price in the future...
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.
I'd like to redirect the thread with a little truth here.
The article indicates that the Philippine Senate caused
the US to leave the Philippines but it was the eruption of
Mt. Pinatubo and the resultant inundation by volcanic
ash that caused our military to give up our presence
there. The decision by the Philippine Senate was after
that to save face about loosing all of the support to
their economy that the US had been.
From the link:
But as we cautiously emerged from our shelters Sunday
morning and looked in awe on the gray devastation all
around us, we knew things were never going to get back
to normal. Buried in ash several inches deep, with
hundreds of buildings collapsed, Clark, Subic, San
Miguel and Cubi Point were no longer able to support us.
Roads were blocked by mud, tree limbs, and abandoned
vehicles; the power was still out and there wasn't much
food and water.
It's true, it's just that most of the kidnapees are Filipino christians.
Fair enough, which would explain why they don't show up on my daily news searches. I'll take your word for it and try the search for Abu Sayyef you suggested in the morning. I do keep up with the enslaved and persecuted Christians in the Sudan and the war on Christians in Indonesia (not to mention the US backing of Islamic fundamentalists in former Yugoslavia against Christians). Thank you kindly for your help and suggestions!
Or are they just trying to be good samaritans and help those less fortunate?
Perhaps you are right, and I withhold judgment on that (even though the four Baptist missionary families I met bound for the Philippines had no other goal in mind but to convert Catholics to Baptists). Even if they went for the most wonderful and altruistic reasons, despite State Dept. warnings...still they ignored those warnings and went on their own despite them, and no reason to send our boys in to rescue them.
If we start attacking the islamist nazis where they breed, it's going to send a clear message to them that terrorist actions are going to come with a higher price in the future...
Yes, if it's in our national interest, for the defense of our nation, then, yes, of course! That's what our boys signed up for. Just don't let us pretend it is for the sake of some missionaries. Sets a bad precedent.
Sorry for my slow and bad typing...I have a broken arm. Best regards, wonders
Wagner High Online Alumni you have my love, pride and respect
for all you went through and for all that you appear to have become!
Wow! Thank you for your question and concern! No, I no longer live there (was there 14 months 1992-1993). I went from Cambodia to former Yugoslavia (until 1998), then returned to the US, but still receive precious letters from my Cambodian friends through a World Vision nurse who returns home to Chicago each Christmas, Bless her dear heart.
Again, thank you for the story of your wonderful friend. It has given me hope and a great example to try to follow.
Ditto. Cambodia, eh? Me too.
Like the guy from Spokane who feasted at the local Botulism Mary restaurant, predictably succumbed to dysentary, and required 5 liters of IV glucose by the time I got him to the emergency room three days later.
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