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Posted by 49 Pan 2013-02-03 09:31||
2013-02-03 09:31||
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#2 Let me get this right. 5 of the MNLF were killed - and then 4 of them were beheaded? Boy I bet the 5th one feels lucky!
Posted by CrazyFool 2013-02-03 09:34||
2013-02-03 09:34||
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#3 well this tells you a couple of things. First ... the mad dogs Abu Sayyaf, who really are nothing more than a high-powered gang, are now at odds with other Islamic on the same terrority. But also, it's pretty clear that local police and army units do not have any control over stretches of that southern island. When you've got factions running around with hundreds of members - obviously they control some exclusive turf of their own. So despite rumors that police are "hunting" for kidnapped hostages ... they sure aren't hunting in some places.
Posted by Raider 2013-02-03 10:07||
2013-02-03 10:07||
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#4 ... they sure aren't hunting in some places
Sounds like London, Birmingham, Dearborn, Malmo....
Posted by AlanC 2013-02-03 10:42||
2013-02-03 10:42||
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#5 No picking winners and losers! Clandestinely arm both sides with Chinese made weapons, then join the UN in a demand to an immediate end of the violence.
Posted by Besoeker 2013-02-03 11:25||
2013-02-03 11:25||
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#6 And enforce the blockade, no blood for Buri.
Posted by Shipman 2013-02-03 12:05||
2013-02-03 12:05||
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#7 Let 'em kill each other. Then, when they get sick of that and meet for peace talks, bomb the peace talks.
Posted by tu3031 2013-02-03 12:38||
2013-02-03 12:38||
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#8 "And enforce the blockade, no blood for Buri."
The Abu Sayyaf and the Moro Liberation Front have a history as pirates. We're not talking Johnny Dep here. These guys are the real deal. They have been pirates since the days when the Spanish sailed galleons across the Pacific. They know the waters of SE Asia like the back of their own hand. They have fast boats with low profiles, and smuggling is a way of life to them. That's why AQ teams up with these guys - they are facilitators for moving illegal goods across the ocean. Hence, blockades are pretty much impossible.
Posted by Raider 2013-02-03 14:03||
2013-02-03 14:03||
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#9 "Let 'em kill each other. Then, when they get sick of that and meet for peace talks, bomb the peace talks."
Works for me.
Posted by Barbara 2013-02-03 14:18||
2013-02-03 14:18||
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#10 Raider, I think it's been the case for a long, long time that the government doesn't control the South. I don't think we really controlled it back when we owned the Phillipines, and I don't think the Spanish ever really controlled it either.
It's another situation where the smart solution would be to let the south go its own way and see if you could get some reasonable strong man to be Emir, sorta like Brunei, and keep the peace. The northern part of the Philippines could then go on its way and develop as a modern state.
Posted by Steve White 2013-02-03 14:19||
2013-02-03 14:19||
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#11 The PHIL is of course important to US interests in East Asia, but personally I'm also concerned about Indonesia, PNG, etc. in SOPAC + SWPAC.
Iff Syria + Central, West Africa is any measure, ABU SAYAFF + OTHER PRO-QAEDA AREN'T GOING TO STAY PUT IN THE PHIL FOREVER. There are Repors on the MSM-net about PAKISTANI TALIBAN + LeT fighting in Syria.
The day is coming when the PHIL + SE Asia Nations will see AFPAK Militant andor other foreign Islamist fighters traveling + intervening in already tense or volatile Muslim-vs-non-Muslim local rivalries + situations.
* IIRC TOPIX, FREEREPUBLIC > PAPUA NEW GUINEA - THE FORGOTTEN JIHAD.
Won't be "forgotten" or quiet for much longer once Qaeda + Taliban, etc. Hard Boyz get firmly established.
Muslim Pacific Islanders from Polynesia are allegedly involved.
Posted by JosephMendiola 2013-02-03 18:38||
2013-02-03 18:38||
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