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| Southeast Asia |
| Filippinos may raid MILF strongholds |
| 2003-12-02 |
| The Philippine president warned on Monday that troops will not hesitate to pursue Jemaah Islamiyah militants in strongholds of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, despite peace talks with the Muslim separatist group. Arroyo said the government "will not allow the peace process to stand in the way of the overriding fight against terrorism,’’ and "will not hesitate to pursue terrorists wherever they are and whenever they are pinpointed to be.’’ Defence Secretary Eduardo Ermita, citing intelligence reports, said on Sunday at least 31 Jemaah members were training MILF guerrillas in bombmaking at Mount Cararao and another location in central Mindanao, in the southern Philippines, that are known to be MILF strongholds. According to one intelligence report, the al-Qaeda terrorist organisation recently gave a Jemaah Islamiyah handler 15,000 dollars for the training, he said. The money was received and disbursed by Indonesian-born Jemaah Islamiyah fugitive Fathur Roman Al-Ghozi before he was gunned down in a shootout with troops last month, he said. "MILF formations will have to stand off these pursuit operations, or actively support us in the same,’’ Arroyo said in a statement. She said she has asked the government peace panel to bring the matter to the MILF’s attention, reminding the rebels of their commitment to purge their ranks of terrorists. National Security Adviser Roilo Golez said the government had accepted the declaration of the MILF that it would not cooperate with Jemaah Islamiyah, and expects the rebels to help the government go after the militants. The MILF has denied links with foreign terrorists. Golez acknowledged individuals within the organisation may have linked up with Jemaah Islamiyah without their leadership’s approval. He said the government was putting up a 300 million peso (US$5.5 million) reward for information leading to the arrest of terrorists, including Jemaah members, as well as kidnappers. But he admitted the difficulty of running after foreign terrorists who slip across Southeast Asia’s porous borders, and who may have sleeper cells ready to be activated. The Philippines is tightening security arrangements with neighbors like Malaysia and Indonesia and is enhancing border security in the hunt for terrorists, he said. Golez said a region-wide security alert has been issued for key Jemaah leaders, specifically mentioning Azahari bin Husin, an alleged Malaysian bomb expert educated in Britain. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #6 If you go through Belmont Club's archives, he has a lot to say about the Philippenes. Quite educational. As far as their constitution and US military action goes - I think the constitution allows for a foriegn military to operate on its soil, but only with the permission of congress. I say: nearly everyone in Manila is crooked anyway, let's bribe and blackmail enough politicians so we can do this thing. |
| Posted by: Pete Stanley 2003-12-2 4:28:07 PM |
| #5 There is a fundamental Filipino social problem - they really, really don't like taking initiative. Boy, you must not be talking about Filipino women. Everyone I have met (and after 24 years active duty that's a lot) is out for as much power as she can grab. The club system, BX, commisary, various small businesses and the odd small country, she wants to run it. And if you get in her way, look out! |
| Posted by: Steve 2003-12-2 3:50:18 PM |
| #4 C'mon, you're jiving us. Individual freedom, the cornerstone, once acquired grows on people and the entrepreneurial urge comes with self-confidence. All are a function of time. I had several Mexi-Flip (as they called themselves) friends in San Diego - and they were as hungry for success as anyone else. I'll grant they were as American as tacos or lumpia, but isn't this true of tranplanted Fillipinos (using F instead of Ph following your lead), too? I think and hope the answer is absolutely! And wouldn't that also apply to free people in the Fillipines? You've thrown a pretty big curve, here, bro! I've always seen people from different places to be essentially the same - only their experiences and the range of pressures (parents, peers, society, et al) shape them differently. The Iraqis, for instance, can shed some of their subservient and tribal habits with repeated applications of opportunity and individual choice to decide for themselves. Okay, enuff blather - help me out here! |
| Posted by: .com 2003-12-2 1:14:59 PM |
| #3 There is a fundamental Filipino social problem - they really, really don't like taking initiative. This is a problem of national character I think. Filipinos do not make good entrepreneurs, not even as immigrants to the US. They want to work under direction, they need leadership, and take well to foreign leadership - Speaking as a Filipino. |
| Posted by: buwaya 2003-12-2 12:22:28 PM |
| #2 Dan / Pete - I remember when US Special Forces were "training" with the Phils and donating tons of equipment to assist them in overcoming the huge advantage that MILF has in jungle cover. One of the US guys was quoted as saying that they copy us well and really seem to be getting the hang of it, but... But when we break and then tell 'em "Okay, now you do it." they seem to freeze up. They love the game when we're here with 'em, but don't show any enthusiasm for following their own officers when they take over the ops. And their officers seem terrified of making the calls in the field. Zero confidence at both levels - not to mention the back-stabbing from higher-ups back in Manilla. Sounds like, to me, that this is a classic problem of professionalism. It will take years of it before the confidence and espirit de corps will be present - and recent officer "uprisings" indicate there are some fundamental and institutional problems that must be solved before that clock can even start. I don't wanna say they're doomed to fail, but they have a helluva long way to go before they can do it on their own. Time to amend that Phil constitution that prevents us from fighting with them? That's the only way to jump-start it, it seems. What do you guys think? |
| Posted by: .com 2003-12-2 4:45:06 AM |
| #1 Watching the Philippinos fight terrorists is like Groundhog Day. |
| Posted by: Pete Stanley 2003-12-2 4:05:57 AM |