Word: sayyaf
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...Sayyaf itself is a tiny radical offshoot of a larger secessionist guerrilla movement. The Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) launched its insurgency in the 1970s, pressing for independence for the Muslim population of the southern regions of Mindanao and Palwan, who make up some 5 percent of the population of the predominantly Catholic Philippines. It is not the separatist insurgency that has put the Philippines on the U.S. anti-terrorism radar, but rather the links between Abu Sayyaf and Osama bin Laden's organization...
...Sayyaf was founded in 1991 by Abdurajak Janjalani, who returned to his native Basilian after a spell in Afghanistan, where he'd gone to join the anti-Soviet jihad. Janjalani's militant group was funded by front organizations linked with al Qaeda, and had hosted 1993 World Trade Center bomber Ramzi Yousef during his stay in the Philippines. Yousef, who had trained with Janjalani in a camp at Khost, hoped to use Abu Sayyaf operatives to attack U.S. airliners in the Philippines. The Filipino organization's longstanding affection for the Pakistani terrorist is reflected in the fact that they typically...
...dangerous. And besides their historic links with al Qaeda, they continue to pose a terrorist threat to U.S. citizens - the organization currently holds hostage the Wichita, Kansas couple Martin and Gracia Burnham, and last year kidnapped and beheaded Californian Guillermo Sobero. Sending U.S. troops to help wipe out Abu Sayyaf may be part of a strategy to eliminate havens of lawlessness in which al Qaeda may attempt to regroup. It's a project enthusiastically supported by the Philippine government, which has made heavy weather of its own efforts to destroy the group, and even fellow Muslim secessionists will weep...
...negotiations with the government since declaring a cease-fire last August. Although more Islamist in orientation than the MNLF, the MILF publicly rejected Bin Laden's calls for global jihad last October, emphasizing that its primary concern was to bring peace to the southern Philippines. So the tiny Abu Sayyaf is essentially alone, and could potentially be finished off even within the six months allocated for the initial joint exercise between U.S. and Philippine military personnel on Basilian...
...Still, Arroyo may be hoping that U.S. assistance will ensure a quick and popular victory over Abu Sayyaf, shoring up her domestic and international standing. It would certainly help her render her country once again safe for American tourists - but decidedly uncomfortable for al Qaeda fugitives...