Abu Sayyaf bandits were involved in international terrorist operations that targeted American facilities long before the Sept. 11 attacks that sparked US President George W. Bush’s global campaign against the al-Qaida and its allies. Philippine defense and police intelligence sources told THE MANILA TIMES that Abu Sayyaf leaders had met with terrorist masterminds of several atrocities just before US targets were hit. Although Philippine authorities advised American authorities of the alliance between the Abu Sayyaf, Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida, and American neo-nazis, the US appeared to ignore the warnings; until Sept. 11. Strange bedfellows But according to the sources, ...