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Bush
Affirms U.S. Is Ready to Send Troops to the Philippines
President Bush reaffirmed Washington's commitment today [May
19, 2003] to send American troops to help root out Muslim
militants in the southern Philippines . . . Mr. Bush appeared
to be making the statement as a public gesture to President
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo of the Philippines . . . "She's
tough when it comes to terror," Mr. Bush said. "She
fully understands that in the face of terror, you've got to
be strong, not weak. You can't talk with them; you can't negotiate
with them. You've got to bring them to justice." . .
. Today Mr. Bush said that the Philippines would be considered
a "major non-NATO ally," which would give it greater
access to American defense equipment and supplies. Nations
like Israel and Australia already have such status. .
. .Mr. Bush's announcement that the United States intended
to send troops to the Philippines to combat terrorism was
a reiteration of an administration policy that has bogged
down for the past two months.
US
Elite Units to Fight Philippine Rebels
About 1,750 American troops including elite units will go
to the Philippines to join with local forces battling Muslim
rebels, U.S. defense officials said on Friday. . . . The 350
Special Operations troops would head for troubled Jolo Island
in the Sulu archipelago and be supported by 400 troops stationed
at Zamboanga. Meanwhile about 1,000 U.S. Marines from the
31st Marine Expeditionary Unit would remain offshore on ships
to provide emergency backup and air support. . . . But even
if Manila intends to find a way round the constitutional ban
to allow U.S. troops to fight Abu Sayyaf and other groups
such as the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the move
could snap back in the government's face. . . . . Leftists
are already up in arms over the presence of U.S. troops for
the training exercises and a bilateral military resupply pact
signed in November. Many Filipinos fear that the close ties
will drag the country into Washington's wars.
U.S.
troops to join combat in Philippines
(Robert Burns, Associated Press, February 21, 2003)
In a major expansion of American military involvement in the
Philippines, hundreds of U.S. special operations troops
will soon take front line combat roles against Abu Sayyaf
rebels, officials say. . . . the American and Philippine
governments agreed to place U.S. troops alongside Philippine
soldiers in direct combat, defense officials said Thursday.
. . . About 350 U.S. special operations forces, mostly Army
Green Berets, will be involved in the offensive in the Sulu
Archipelago, with much of the effort focused on the island
of Jolo, the officials said. They will be supported by about
400 more U.S. troops based to the north in the port city of
Zamboanga. . . . In addition to the U.S. special operations
forces and the support personnel, a team of about 1,000 Marines
aboard Navy ships off the coast of the Sulu Archipelago will
be available to respond on short notice with air power, logistics
help and medical aid, the U.S. officials said. . . . U.S.
officials said the March offensive would go well beyond training
to include direct combat roles for U.S. forces.
G.I.
Is Killed by a Bomb in the Philippines
(Carlos H. Conde, New York Times, October 3, 2002)
An American soldier was killed in an explosion tonight
in Zamboanga City, in the southern Philippines, the 11th American
serviceman killed since the United States expanded its campaign
against terrorism to this country. . . . The explosion
occurred a week after the leader of the Islamic militant group
Abu Sayyaf called on Muslims in the Philippines to attack
what he called the enemies of Islam. . . . The attack was
the first aimed at Americans, at least since the United States
sent more than a thousand troops to the southern Philippines
in February. Although the exercises that involved the
American troops in the Philippines ended in July, several
hundred have remained. . . . The American troops were sent
to the Philippines to help their Filipino counterparts fight
Abu Sayyaf, a band of Islamic radicals who gained notoriety
for kidnapping local residents and foreigners.
Posted June 19, 2002
It was reported that American troops came under enemy fire
for the first time yesterday.
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