|
|
As the July 31 deadline for the ending of the U.S. deployment to the Philippines draws near, Martin and Gracia Burnham, of Wichita, Kansas — the two American missionaries being held hostage by Abu Sayaff terrorists — have began their second year in captivity. Deborah Yap, a Filipino nurse, is also being held captive by the terrorist group. Meanwhile, what was heralded as the most significant expansion of the U.S.-led war against terrorism outside Afghanistan to date has reached a juncture, where it must be expanded further lest it risks petering on indefinitely or end with an inconclusive whimper.
Founded in 1992, Abu Sayyaf (whose name is Arabic for "Bearer of the Sword") has the self-professed goal of establishing an independent Islamic state in western Mindanao and the Sulu islands in the southern Philippines. However, over the years the group's activities have revealed it to be little more than a criminal gang, more interested in seizing hostages for money than pursing any underlying political agenda. In the aftermath of Sept. 11, the United States has claimed that the Filipino group has links to al Qaeda, listing three pieces of 'evidence' to back up this charge. Firstly, Osama bin Laden's brother-in-law, Muhammad Jamal Khalifa, apparently met with Abu Sayyaf founder Abdurajak Janjalini in the early 1990s. Secondly, the Filipino terrorist group was trained by Ramzi Yousef, who was convicted of the 1993 attack on the World Trade Center and also has links to bin Laden. Thirdly, Abu Sayyaf members are known to have trained with al Qaeda leaders in Afghanistan. These links to bin Laden's organization provided the main justification and rationale for the American deployment to the Philippines in February 2002 to assist the local armed forces in their ongoing struggle against Abu Sayyaf.
There are approximately 1,200 U.S. troops currently in the Philippines to train and advise their Filipino counterparts for this campaign. American forces include not only 160 military advisers, complete with intelligence and logistical support, but also some 300 Navy Seabees involved on construction projects. To date, 10 U.S. troops have been killed in this operation, known as Balikitan 02-1, all dying when a MH-47 helicopter crashed at sea on Feb. 22. Among other things, the Americans are rebuilding Basilan's airfield for the Philippine military, while working on 11 other engineering projects that have injected around $4 million into the local economy. U.S. troops have also conducted free health clinics and appear to be enjoying good success in a concentrated and integrated 'hearts and mind' campaign.
Meanwhile, U.S. Special Forces trainers have deployed across Basilan in nine "A-Teams," each comprising 12 men. Under delicate rules of engagement formulated with the Filipino government, American soldiers can only fire their weapons in self-defense, are not allowed to accompany the Filipino troops they advise and train on actual combat missions, and cannot initiate combat with the rebel forces themselves. However, the A-Teams have intentionally ventured into known Abu Sayyaf territory in an attempt to reassure locals while also dissuading the rebels from operating openly, as well as possibly tempting them to confront the Americans militarily. For their part, Abu Sayyaf squads have thus far resisted any urge to ambush U.S. troops, who are not known to have engaged in any direct action against the terrorists.
Since U.S. troops arrived on Basilan in February there have been no kidnappings or beheadings by Abu Sayyaf. Meanwhile, some of those forced to flee the group's 10-year reign of terror are beginning to return home, and some previously boarded-up stores are reopening. In addition, according to the Pentagon, American assistance and equipment has greatly improved morale among Filipino troops, resulting in the death and capture of some rebels. Filipino troops are also receiving much-needed tuition in marksmanship, map reading, emergency medical response, and basic military skills and teamwork. Previously restricted to daylight operations, they have also developed a 24-hour capability with the help of American training, and are now flying and fighting at night for the first time. In addition, U.S. aerial surveillance and increased patrolling by Philippine naval vessels are believed to have hindered Abu Sayyaf's ability to use the sea as an escape and transit route, while the establishing of four new bases in the Basilan interior has constrained the terrorist group's movement on land. Abu Sayyaf, which numbered around 1,000 operatives a year ago, is now believed by Philippine and American military sources to comprise 50 to 60 men who have broken into small groups and dispersed across the island. There are also some reports of infighting and squabbling among the group's members, including rumors that their leader, Abu Sabaya, has absconded with ransom money and is being hunted by his own men.
Such successes would all appear to validate the observation by the Philippine chief of staff, Gen. Roy Cimatu, that Abu Sayyaf is a "spent force," and indicate that the U.S. mission there is all but over. However, while six months may be enough time to train individual soldiers, it is a woefully short period in which to revitalize an organization as underdeveloped as the Philippine military. Moreover, suspicions of corruption in the Philippine Army have long abounded, with some Army officers suspected of implication in ransom arrangements, allowing Abu Sayyaf members to evade capture in return for cash payoffs, and even selling weapons to the group. If such corruption is as endemic in the Philippine armed forces as some claim, six months training by U.S. troops is unlikely to be enough to correct it. The presence of American trainers has had the added advantage of placing the Philippine armed forces under greater scrutiny than they are accustomed to, as well as exposing them to a more human-rights oriented approach to soldering than they may be used to. Despite this, there are no guarantees that a premature departure by the Americans will not see a return of encounters between the Filipino army and Abu Sayyaf, which have ended with the terrorists mysteriously 'escaping,' be it as a result of corruption or incompetence on the part of those tasked with capturing them.
Any U.S. departure would appear to leave one of the biggest, albeit unspoken, aims of the U.S. deployment to the Philippines unrealized - the release of the Burnhams. For all the success enjoyed by the Filipinos under the tutelage of their U.S. advisers, securing the freedom of the two American missionaries looks no more likely today than it did in February. Indeed, if Abu Sayyaf fulfills its recent commitment to release their Filipino hostage Deborah Yap, this may further complicate efforts to locate and free the Burnhams by "Americanizing" the problem of hostages. For, with no Filipinos left to free, mobilizing public opinion in the Philippines to the degree where any rescue effort by U.S. forces will be considered politically acceptable may be even more difficult than it is now.
The announcement that Yap is to be freed came in the wake of an announcement by the United States that $5 million is being offered for information leading to the arrest or capture of Abu Sayyaf's commanders. The terrorist group's leader, Abu Sabaya, welcomed the news of the reward, saying: "It means we [Abu Sayyaf] are important to them." The timing of the reward's announcement may be linked to an expansion of the U.S. mission in the Philippines, or may even represent a 'parting shot' at Abu Sayyaf as the mission winds down. On balance, the latter prospect seems the more unlikely. In painting Abu Sayyaf in al Qaeda colors, U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld may well have pinned himself into a corner. According to Rumsfeld, if a connection between the two terrorist organizations exists, however tenuous, Abu Sayyaf must suffer the consequences. Otherwise, the much-feted "second front" in the war on terrorism will be exposed as a sham. While terrorist groups must not be able to dictate American foreign policy through hostage taking, the fate of the Burnhams has become tied up in the war on terrorism. Even were there no al Qaeda link, this would still arguably be the case. As Rumsfeld said: the war on terrorism extends beyond al Qaeda.
The U.S. deployment to the Philippines is the first real test of this doctrine and should be extended to allow Manila and Washington to complete the destruction of Abu Sayyaf and continue the process of addressing the social ills that fostered such a pariah in the first place. The freedom of the Burnhams and Yap must also be achieved in the process. If that is found to be something that requires an American-led rescue operation then that too must be considered. The governor of Basilan, Wahad Akbar, and the mayor of the town of Isabela on the island, Luis Rubio Biel, have both asked Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to extend the length of the U.S. deployment there. Meanwhile, Adm. Thomas B. Fargo, commander-in-chief of U.S. Pacific Command, has made a related request to his superiors, recommending that U.S. troops be permitted to accompany their Philippine counterparts on patrol where they will be able to provide on-the-spot guidance and assistance. Both options may be necessary if the hostages being held by Abu Sayyaf are to be freed and a coup de grace administered to the terrorist group. Only then can the so-called second front on the war on terrorism be considered a success in the real sense of the word.
Addendum
Soon after this article was written, two of the hostages being held by Abu Sayaff were killed during a rescue attempt by the Philippines armed forces. Martin Burnham and Deborah Yap both died when an operation to free them was launched on June 7. According to Filipino Col. Renato Padua, Burnham was executed by his captors when they realized a rescue operation was taking place. It is unclear how Ms. Yap died. Gracia Burnham, who was wounded in the incident and is recovering in hospital, is said to be out of danger.
The rescue attempt was carried out by the Philippines Armed Forces' U.S.-trained Scout Rangers, and took place near the town of Siraway in the Zamboanga del Norte region of the southern Philippines. Speaking in Brussels, Belgium, where he is attending NATO meetings, Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said no Americans were involved in the operation, adding that ongoing U.S. training of Filipino troops in counter-terrorism techniques would carry on. The hostages' deaths further illustrate the need for such a commitment to continue.
BACK TO THE TOP  TERRORISM PROJECT HOME LINKS CDI HOME
|
|
