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U.S. Will Disband Terrorism Task Force in Philippines U.S. Phasing Out Its Counterterrorism Unit in Philippines
(about 11 hours later)
MANILA — An elite United States anti-terrorist military unit that has been operating in the southern Philippines for more than a decade is being phased out, according to a United States government official. MANILA — An elite American military counterterrorism unit that has been operating in the southern Philippines for more than a decade is being phased out, the Pentagon’s Pacific Command said Thursday.
The Joint Special Operations Task Force Philippines — which was formed after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks — was established to help the Philippines fight Qaeda-linked rebel groups in the country. The unit was one of dozens of similar outposts worldwide that attempted to fight potential terror groups at their source, before they could strike the United States. The Joint Special Operations Task Force Philippines — which was formed after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks — was established to help train and advise the Philippines in its fight against rebel groups linked to Al Qaeda. The unit was one of dozens worldwide that tried to fight potential terrorist groups, before they could strike the United States.
The United States government official, who asked not be named because he was not authorized to discuss the issue, said United States Special Forces would continue to assist the Philippine military on a periodic basis. He said the elite unit had been successful in its mission. American Special Forces will continue to help Philippine security forces counter a smaller, lingering Islamist threat, but the size of the mission will drop in the coming months to a dozen or so advisers from its current 320 service members, based in Mindanao in the south, American officials said.
“Our partnership with the Philippine security forces has been successful in drastically reducing the capabilities of domestic and transnational terrorist groups in the Philippines — to the point where they have largely devolved into disorganized groups resorting to criminal undertakings to sustain their activities,” the official said. “Our partnership with the Philippine security forces has been successful in drastically reducing the capabilities of domestic and transnational terrorist groups in the Philippines — to the point where they have largely devolved into disorganized groups resorting to criminal undertakings to sustain their activities,” said Capt. Masato Itoh of the Marine Corps, a spokesman for the Pacific Command in Hawaii.
The phasing out of the anti-terrorist unit comes two months after the Philippines and the United States signed a military cooperation agreement that would allow the construction of military facilities in the Philippines that could be used by the United States. The new deal would allow United States ships and aircraft, as well as military personnel, to be stationed in the Philippines — though officials have stressed that permanent American bases would not be established. The phasing out of the force, which had as many as 600 troops as recently as 2009, reflects a combination of budget pressures in Washington; higher priorities for Special Forces in spots like Iraq; and a shift to Filipino forces.
The agreement marks a change in focus of United States military involvement in the Philippines. The Special Forces deployment in the southern Philippines was focused on the internal threat of extremist rebel groups. The new arrangement is focused on external threats, particularly in light of increased tensions between the Philippines and China over territorial disputes in the South China Sea. The Philippine government has identified several potential areas for the American military to operate, most of which are near the western Philippine coast, facing China. “This is a natural evolution and an example of the maturation of the Philippine military,” said Col. David S. Maxwell, a retired Special Forces officer who commanded the unit in 2007 and is now at Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service. “Our commitment still remains, but it’s possible to scale back and transition to a new training mission.”
American forces in the southern Philippines, which ranged from 300 to 600 troops, were not authorized to undertake combat operations but played an advisory role, providing intelligence capabilities and surveillance, including the use of unmanned aerial drones for locating suspected rebel fighters. Indeed, the changing American counterterrorism role comes two months after the Philippines and the United States signed an agreement that would allow the construction of military facilities in the Philippines that could be used by the United States. The new deal would allow American ships, aircraft and military personnel to be stationed there — though officials have emphasized that permanent American bases would not be established.
The primary target of the Philippine military, and the Special Forces, was the Abu Sayyaf Group, a small but violent organization credited with high-profile kidnappings, bombings and beheadings. Abu Sayyaf was formed in the early 1990s by Filipino rebels trained under Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan, and with assistance in the Philippines from Ramzi Ahmed Yousef, who organized the 1993 World Trade Center bombing in New York. The new arrangement is focused on external threats, particularly in light of increased tensions between the Philippines and China over territorial disputes in the South China Sea. The Philippine government has identified several potential areas where the American military might operate, most of which are near the western Philippine coast, facing China.
According to data from Pacific Strategies and Assessments, a risk consultancy that produces regular reports on insurgency activities in the Philippines, violence has remained consistently high in the southern Philippines in recent years. Abu Sayyaf, which is credited with many of the most violent incidents, is focused primarily on criminal activity but it remains a significant threat, according to a recent report by the firm. American forces in the southern Philippines have not been authorized for combat but have played an advisory role on intelligence and surveillance, including the use of aerial drones for locating suspected rebels.
“Latest government intelligence estimates place the Abu Sayyaf Group strength at 400 armed militants,” the report said. “The group has been surprisingly resilient and able to sustain this number over the past decade despite the death and capture of over a hundred of its leaders and members in past years.” Evan Jendruck, an analyst with IHS Jane’s Terrorism and Insurgency Center, said the unit “undoubtedly helped the Philippine military to curb the activities of violent extremist groups operating in the region” so that militants “now only pose a small, localized threat.”
Pacific Strategies noted that the figure was down from 1,300 members, when it was at its peak in the year 2000. The report also noted that despite the presence of the Special Forces, two new violent extremist groups have been established in the southern Philippines recently. The primary target of the Philippine military and the Special Forces was the small but violent militant group Abu Sayyaf, credited with high-profile kidnappings, bombings and beheadings. Abu Sayyaf was formed in the early 1990s by Filipino rebels trained under Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan, and with help in the Philippines from Ramzi Ahmed Yousef, who organized the 1993 World Trade Center bombing in New York.According to data from Pacific Strategies and Assessments, a risk consultancy that produces regular reports on insurgency activities in the Philippines, violence has remained consistently high in the southern Philippines in recent years. Abu Sayyaf is focused primarily on criminal activity, but remains a significant threat, according to a recent report by the firm.
The Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, which was established in 2010 as an offshoot of a larger, more moderate insurgency group, has about 450 armed followers that attack government forces and carry out bombings in the southern Philippines. “The group has been surprisingly resilient and able to sustain this number over the past decade despite the death and capture of over a hundred of its leaders and members in past years,” it said.
The Khilafah Islamiyah Movement, a small shadowy organization founded in 2012, is estimated to have only 20 to 30 members, but the Philippines military credits the group with detonating bombs in southern shopping malls in 2013. Abu Sayyaf’s ranks have declined to 400 fighters from a peak of 1,300 members in 2000, the report said.
In January, leaders in Manila struck a landmark peace deal with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the largest Muslim insurgency group in the country, but smaller, more violent organizations were not included in the talks. The deal, which is still being completed by the government, seeks to bring prosperity to the restive southern Philippines and weaken the appeal of the extremist groups. Still, the fact that Abu Sayyaf still exists at all, after years of American assistance here, “is less of a success story for the U.S. task force,” Mr. Jendruck said.
In January, leaders in Manila struck a landmark peace deal with the largest Muslim insurgent group in the country, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. The deal, which is still being completed by the government, seeks to bring prosperity to the restive south and weaken the appeal of the extremist groups.