Washington strengthening Manila’s resolve vs terrorism

WASHINGTON – The United States has strengthened the resolve and the capacity of President Arroyo’s administration to crush al-Qaeda terrorists operating in the Philippines, US National Security Advisor Dr. Condoleezza Rice said on Friday.

Rice said the US government is actively working on the Philippines and Indonesia, among others, to ensure terrorists do not gain a foothold as they did in Afghanistan.

"It took a while for al-Qaeda to become the organization that it is; it took a while for them to lodge themselves in 60 countries around the world, including the United States; it took a while for them to become an effective organization. It’s going to take a while to break them up," she said.

Diplomatic sources revealed Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes is planning to visit Washington before the end of the year, his second since August.

Reyes is expected to follow up the talks between Arroyo and President George W. Bush after the two leaders met in Los Cabos, Mexico at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit held last month.

Sources also told The Star that a Mutual Logistics Support Agreement (MLSA) is in the works and scheduled to be signed by leaders of both countries before the end of the year, either in Hawaii or Manila.

Under the agreement, US military forces and the Philippines are allowed to use each other’s military bases, buy supplies and exchange services to make it easier for coordination and support.

During a news briefing on Bush’s upcoming trip to Europe for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit, Rice said all NATO member-nations face common threats from terrorists and countries that sponsor them.

"These threats require a different kind of military force to defend against, a force that is lighter, more agile and more flexible. NATO members are working to transform their forces to meet new threats and to increase the ability of our forces to work together," Rice said.

Rice also said Washington is not certain on the role al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is presently playing and his whereabouts.

"What we have to assume is that whatever al-Qaeda is doing in terms of command and control has to be different than what is was doing before because they don’t have a home base in Afghanistan. And that is a good thing," she said.

Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, a lot has been done in mobilizing intelligence and law enforcement organizations all over the world against extremist activities of al-Qaeda and similar organizations, Rice said.

"We have locked up or detained or eliminated important al-Qaeda leaders. We have eliminated their base in Afghanistan so they cannot operate in the way they have in the past."

"We have strengthened the resolve and the capacity of countries like Yemen and the Philippines and countries in Africa to deal with this threat. A lot has been done," Rice said.