Word: sparrows
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Even as rumors of new military uprisings swirl, the Communists have begun to show their hand in the capital, infiltrating its unruly confines with small assassination squads known as Sparrow units, so called for their small size and great mobility. This year more than 150 policemen and soldiers have been killed. To counter the hit squads, Manila police -- with Aquino's reluctant approval -- have organized gangs of vigilantes to drive out the Communists. Last week more than 4,000 Manila residents signed up for duty. Those who are accepted will be issued weapons and given training. The Communists are fighting...
...coordinated 15-minute burst of violence, pistol-wielding assassins killed two active-duty U.S. service members, a retired U.S. sergeant and a Filipino businessman. The attacks occurred within three miles of Clark Air Base, the largest overseas U.S. Air Force facility. All bore the signature of the N.P.A.'s sparrow-unit death squads, so called for their small size and great mobility. Persons claiming to represent the N.P.A. took responsibility for the murders, which came just one week after President Corazon Aquino vowed to crack down on the Communist insurgents...
...such attainments are threatened by the government's precarious military situation. The Communist New People's Army now claims to have 24,000 guerrilla fighters, and its assassination squads, known as Sparrow units, have moved freely through the capital, killing an estimated 25 policemen in the metropolitan area so far this year...
After a silence of two days, Washington reluctantly acknowledged that a Navy fighter had fired a pair of Sparrow missiles at an approaching Iranian jet over the Strait of Hormuz. The targeted plane veered away at the last moment and was not harmed, but the episode illustrated the high state of American readiness to respond to any attacks in the area. In the waters below, American warships led three more reflagged tankers to Kuwait, bringing the total to five since the escort operation began last month. Meanwhile, Iraq broke a 25-day pause in its air strikes against Iran, which...
...referring to the death of the last Dusky Seaside Sparrow, you say the birds "stubbornly refused to move" when their habitat was destroyed by developers ((NATION, June 29)). You make it sound as if their extinction was the poor birds' fault. Over the ages, those little sparrows managed to survive hurricanes, fires and floods. But they were no match for the bulldozers. It took nature tens of thousands of years to create the Dusky Seaside Sparrow. It took man little more than two decades to wipe...