US strike force sent to Basilan on Sunday

A US strike force will be deployed in the Abu Sayyaf stronghold of Basilan on Sunday as preparations for the joint RP-US military exercises in Western Mindanao shift to high gear.

Marine Brig. Gen. Emmanuel Teodosio, co-director of the "Balikatan 02-1" war games, said the first batch of the US Special Forces will plane in tomorrow, stay overnight in Zamboanga City, then proceed to Basilan the following day.

To trailblaze for the US troops in Basilan is a 32-member advance party of Special Forces, an elite group composed of experts in unconventional warfare and used by the United States in global hot spots.

The main contingent of the 660-strong US forces is expected to arrive on Monday in Zamboanga City, which will serve as the jumping board to Basilan for the training of Filipino soldiers in fighting the Abu Sayyaf terrorists. However, only 160 of the American soldiers will actually be sent to Basilan.

Gen. Charles Holland, commander-in-chief of the US Special Operations Command based at Macbill Air Force Base in Florida, flew to Zamboanga yesterday and held a closed-door meeting with AFP chief Gen. Diomedio Villanueva and Southern Command chief Lt. Gen. Roy Cimatu.

Emerging from the meeting, Villanueva said Holland came "to visit his troops, find out what they need and what things need to be done."

Holland signed the terms of reference (TOR) governing Balikatan, Villanueva said.

About 200 American soldiers, mostly logistics and communications personnel, are already in Zamboanga City.

Teodosio said the entire US special forces complement will be in Basilan by next week.

At present, there are 503 US soldiers in Zamboanga and Cebu, mostly support and administrative staff.

"The US troops may need a week or two to formulate training modules that will suit our troops," Teodosio said, adding some of the Americans are expected to constantly shuttle between Basilan and Zamboanga to fine-tune their training programs.

National Security Adviser Roilo Golez said the exercise proper starts today after two weeks of preparations.

Observers viewed the deployment in Basilan as a "new chapter in Washington’s campaign against terror."

"The deployment of the US special forces on Basilan will mark the most significant expansion of the United States war against terrorism, after its destruction of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan," Reuters reported.

Philippine officials said the US military experts, including 160 Special Forces troops, would advise the Filipino soldiers and boost the capability of both sides in fighting terrorism.

Although the US servicemen are not allowed to take part in actual combat, they can fire back in self-defense if attacked.

Golez said the training may take four months, after which there would be a "redeployment or disengagement period."

The training ends in July, regardless of whether the American missionary couple held hostage by the Abu Sayyaf since late May last year, are freed or not.

Both governments claimed that the Abu Sayyaf, which styles itself as freedom fighters struggling for an independent Islamic state in Mindanao but engages in mass kidnapping for ransom, has links with the al-Qaeda network of international terrorists led by Saudi-born dissident Osama bin Laden.

Some 70 to 80 hard-core Abu Sayyaf gunmen operate in Basilan and have command of the island’s rugged and thickly forested terrain.

Although another Abu Sayyaf faction is based in the nearby island of Sulu, the joint exercise will be limited only to Basilan and Zamboanga.

Basilan local officials said they have received information that two Abu Sayyaf commanders were ready to surrender to the government and hand over the Burnhams, following disputes with other Abu Sayyaf leaders.

"That’s a tactical matter. We’ll discuss it when there are results already," Villanueva said.

Teodosio said two Army Light Reaction Companies will also be training by US Special Forces at AFP special operations command at Fort Magsaysay in Laur, Nueva Ecija where another

joint military exercise called "Balance Piston" is ongoing.

Balance Piston, a small-scale maneuver dealing with small unit tactics, survival training and combat patrols, ends today.

GMA cites signing of TOR

President Arroyo expressed confidence that the signing of the TOR would finally put to rest all arguments against the constitutionality and legality of the Balikatan.

"Because of these controversies, I insisted that we must have a detailed TOR. It was good that if finally came out and at least, our people know them now," the President said in a radio interview.

She asserted that the TOR was not really needed based on the Constitution, adding that previous joint exercises did not have TOR. "They had only course contents because these were only for training."

She appealed to critics of the Balikatan to give the exercise a chance to prove its benefits to the AFP in improving its skills in combating terrorism.

At the same time, Mrs. Arroyo dismissed reports that some Abu Sayyaf leaders have sent surrender feelers for fear that they would be targeted by the Balikatan.

She indicated that previous reports about surrender feelers by Abu Sayyaf commanders turned out to be false. – With Marichu Villanueva, Reuters, AFP reports