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| Southeast Asia | |
| Filippinos storm Abu Sayyaf hideout | |
| 2003-12-03 | |
Philippines’ troops have killed at least three Abu Sayyaf militants in the southern Philippine island of Jolo. Military spokesman, Colonel Alexander Yapching, says troops stormed an Abu Sayyaf hideout near the town of Maimbung on Tuesday. There was a gunbattle with about 20 rebels, he said, with at least three gunmen killed and an [un]known number of others wounded. The guerrillas were believed under the command of senior Abu Sayyaf leader Galib Andang, alias Commander Robot, who was behind the kidnapping of group of mostly European tourists from Malaysian resorts in 2000.
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| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #4 One problem is that the Abu Sayyafs are unlikely to be on actual uninhabited islands, and it really is unknown whether a given island is uninhabited or not. Population density in the Philippines, even in the islands off Mindanao, makes it very likely that you would kill innocent people through such tactics. Add to that the fact that the jungle cover and terrain make it next to impossible to find encampments from the air, and that poor communications (no cell phones there) and undermanned police and military make it difficult for locals to tip off the authorities. |
| Posted by: buwaya 2003-12-3 1:14:40 PM |
| #3 I guess that MILF has never broken the "peace agreement" so whacking them in such a target-rich environment is out of the question. Heh. As for the gun & run Abu Sayyaf guys, they were why I though a time-coordinated strike at several high-confidence spots simultaneously might be a good move. The key is being ready when enough high-confidence reports intersect in time. The assumption that "we" (euphemistically speaking) must play by some set of codified rules, yet they don't and, in fact, it is only to be expected they won't, etc. is where I think the war on this shit breaks down. We can't trade punches if we want to prevail - we have to get down and dirty. I keep wondering how long it will take for this lesson to sink in on our side. The universal truth is that 90% of all rebels / insurgents / jihadis / whatevers are pure mercs, so funding is a key, but killing off the cadre and leadership is a key approach, as well. Attacking both mercilessly and relentlessly is needed. Arroyo's recent self-preservation game is a major hindrance - and the need for it is disheartening - in this part of the WoT. Thx, Dan! |
| Posted by: .com 2003-12-3 9:58:09 AM |
| #2 MILF has their own little fiefdom down in Mindanao as a result of the "peace" agreements - all territory that was previously held by the guerrillas when they entered into the negotiations with the government is theirs to do as they please, that's where the JI and al-Qaeda as well as homegrown training camps are. Abu Sayyaf, being more of a bandit gang than anything else, doesn't have any set hideout since their main base was overrun a couple of years ago and frequently engages in the island-hopping business. The problem is, the Philippines have so many uninhabited islands that as soon you find one hideout they all run like the brave jihadis/bandits that they are to somewhere else. |
| Posted by: Dan Darling 2003-12-3 9:38:19 AM |
| #1 Is it correct that many of the MILF / Abu Sayyaf / Abu Dingleberry camps / hideouts / stomping grounds / haunts are either deserted or nearly deserted Islands? This is my impression, at least. If so, why not perform MOAB testing on them? Doing the Mother Daisy Cutter routine on anything identified with a good level of confidence sounds good to me. A coordinated strike on several of them within a short time window (4 or 5 minutes would be nifty) might reduce the opposition significantly in one swell foop. Decent testing program of the MOAB's effects on vegetation cover at different altitudes and on differing terrain. Think of the cool 4-color graphs you could generate. Win-win, perhaps? |
| Posted by: .com 2003-12-3 9:30:00 AM |