U.S. to Deploy Troops to Philippines

On February 20, American defence officials said that 1,750 American special operation troops will be deployed shortly to the Philippines for combat in the south. Later reports put the total number of U.S. troops headed for the Philippines at 3,000. Their stated objective is to assist in wiping out Abu Sayyaf, which the Arroyo government of the Philippines and the Bush administration have characterized as a terrorist Islamic group with links to Al Qaida. Philippine human rights activists have pointed out that Abu Sayyaf is actually a criminal gang, which runs organized crime in the southern region of the Philippines and commits acts of violence against Muslims and non-Muslims alike. They claim that the real target of the American forces are the New Peoples Army and the Moro liberation forces, which have been fighting for decades to rid the Philippines of its corrupt, neo-colonial regime.

Shortly after the U.S. invaded Afghanistan, American defence officials announced that the Philippines would be the second front in the war against terror. In the last three months of 2001, U.S. troops began to arrive in the Philippines for the first time since 1991, in violation of the constitution adopted by the Philippine government after the overthrow of the Marcos dictatorship. President Arroyo skirted around the issue, claiming the troops were there to participate in military exercises designed to train the Filipino army in the fight against terror, and would not be engaged in combat are permanently stationed. Since their arrival, human rights activists have documented numerous cases where American troops were involved in direct combat, including one operation in which a fisherman was killed when his boat was erroneously identified as an Abu Sayyaf vessel and blown up.

Details of the latest deployment are still sketchy. According to media reports, 350 American special ops, mainly Green Berets, will be involved in an offensive on the island of Jolo, with another 400 troops based in the nearby port city of Zamboanga. Another 1,000 American Marines will be deployed in the waters around the island. Their firepower will include military aircraft.

A report prepared by the Filipino Department of National Defence last year estimated there were 250 Abu Sayyaf in the Philippines, all concentrated in the southern region of the country. That number was later revised upwards to 500.

It is not known whether Filipino troops will participate in this offensive, and if so, under whose command. The offensive is scheduled to begin sometime in March, at the request of the Arroyo government. There is no time limit set for the operation, and defence officials have simply said it will continue until both governments agree it is no longer needed.