Word: sayyaf
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...visible action will concentrate on Abu Sayyaf as American soldiers join the patrols on Basilan Island. They are on a slippery slope between training and fighting. Their very presence makes them a target for terrorists and for the local Muslim populace, which has been bitterly anti-American since colonial times. Though they are called advisers, the Americans will be going on risky missions deep into the jungle. "You're coming as close as you can to direct combat when you go out on patrol," says Michael Vickers, a former Green Beret who is an analyst at Washington's Center...
Since becoming President in 2001, Arroyo has waged an aggressive but often inept campaign against Abu Sayyaf. Some also charge that pervasive corruption makes the army soft on the rebels. Even so, army firefights have pruned the group--which once held the allegiance of perhaps 2,000 Muslims, including 200 hard-core fighters--to about 80 devotees, who have had to split into two constantly traveling units...
...think Arroyo is being too welcoming to U.S. troops. Senior Filipino lawmakers question the legality of an "exercise" that brushes close to the constitutional ban on foreign combat and are worried that it is the first step toward re-establishing U.S. bases. Some analysts charge Arroyo with exaggerating Abu Sayyaf's strength in order to grab more American aid. And Muslim leaders in the southern zone fear the U.S. presence will reactivate mainstream separatist outfits...
...Bush Administration betrays no doubt. "If we have to go into 15 more countries," said Rumsfeld, "we ought to do it to deal with terrorism." Abu Sayyaf may be a mere sideshow, but if the U.S. isn't yet ready to take on state sponsors of terrorism, then operations like this one may be the next best way to show the war isn't over...
...reported because families would rather pay ransom than deal with the police?and firefights in the south have laid waste to the tourism industry. And now the international war on terrorism has come to her shores, but the possibility of a victory in the long-running skirmish against Abu Sayyaf has been complicated by assertions that by inviting foreign troops on Philippine soil, she has violated the constitution (see following story). It is the latest, and perhaps the largest, issue through which she could define her presidency?or find herself overwhelmed...