RP campaign vs terror wins praise from Washington

The Philippines’ anti-terrorism campaign in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks in the US has won glowing praise from Washington.

In its annual "Patterns of Global Terrorism" report, the US State Department showered praise on President Arroyo, calling her "Southeast Asia’s staunchest supporter of the international counter-terrorism effort."

Mrs. Arroyo was one of the first world leaders to offer help to US President George W. Bush right after the terror attacks, which Washington blamed on Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaeda network.

US missionary couple Martin and Gracia Burnham are currently being held hostage by the Muslim extremist group Abu Sayyaf in Basilan and the Philippine government has enlisted the support of US troops in hunting down the kidnappers.

The US government has accused the Abu Sayyaf of maintaining direct links with the al-Qaeda.

At least 560 US troops, 160 of them members of the Special Forces, are training their Filipino counterparts in counter-terrorism. The rest are implementing infrastructure projects in the island-province with a $4-million funding from Washington.

On the other hand, the US charged that North Korea is guilty of a "troublesome" and "disappointing" effort to combat terrorism.

Bush branded North Korea as part of an "axis of evil" earlier this year, warning that it fell into a category of states along with Iran and Iraq with the potential to arm terrorists with weapons of mass destruction.

"The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s response to international efforts to combat terrorism has been disappointing," the report said.

The US State Department report also commended Malaysian Prime Minister Mahatir Mohamad, who visited Bush last week, for Kuala Lumpur’s anti-terrorism effort following the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington which left at least 3,500 people dead or missing.

"The Malaysian government cooperated with international law enforcement and intelligence efforts, made strides in implementing financial counter-terrorism measures, aggressively pursued domestic counter-terrorism before and after Sept. 11," the report said.

In language that will be carefully noted in Beijing, China was also praised for agreeing to all of Washington’s requests for anti-terror help.

"China, which also has been a victim of terrorism, provided valuable diplomatic support for our efforts against terrorism, both at the United Nations and in the South and Central Asian regions," the report said.

US allies South Korea, Japan, Australia, Thailand and New Zealand were also thanked for their solidarity in the anti-terror fight, while Singapore earned honorable mention for helping thwart a planned attack there last year on the US embassy.

Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation, offered support for the US war against terrorism following September’s assaults.

But the report said Jakarta had taken only "limited action" in support of the anti-terror efforts, and although had taken some steps toward terrorist operations in its borders, had been "slow to acknowledge terrorism problems at home." — AFP