US special forces to be deployed to Basilan front lines

ZAMBOANGA CITY – The US Special Forces participating in the joint RP-US "Balikatan 02-1" exercises on Basilan island will soon be deployed at the front-line after they received orders to assist local troops at the company level.

US army Maj. Cynthia Teramae, spokeswoman for US Joint Task Force 510, refused to reveal when the deployment would start but confirmed that US troops stationed in Basilan have already received orders to do so.

"We have received the order that allows us and grants the permission to do so by our government and your government," Teramae said.

"We have received the formal permission and that would start soon. We received the order a couple of days ago," she added.

"Mainly, it involves a small group of our Special Forces advisers," Teramae told The Associated Press, adding that they might watch their local counterparts conduct patrols and apply the training they have received the past six months.

US commandos are among the 1,000 American troops who have been stationed in Basilan since February for a six-month mission to train and advise Filipino soldiers fighting the Abu Sayyaf group which has been linked to the al-Qaeda terrorist network.

But the training had been limited to the battalion level and US army Brig. Gen. Donald Wurster, commander of Joint Task Force 510, has acknowledged they could face greater danger of attack by Abu Sayyaf terrorists once they join company level operations.

While the terms of reference that govern the Balikatan exercises prohibit US troops from engaging in combat, they are allowed to fire back to defend themselves.

"We have not sought to engage them," Wurster said. "We are not looking for a fight but we are prepared to defend ourselves."

Two US marines and several Filipino soldiers were attacked on June 18 as they were guarding American military engineers who are constructing access roads on the island but they fired back and were uninjured in the attack.

The Balikatan exercises have given residents a better sense of security after the presence of local and US forces drove off from the island many Abu Sayyaf who sought refuge among their cohorts in the nearby island group of Sulu province.

After years of living in terror under the shadow of Muslim extremists, Basilan residents have started coming out of their homes after dark because they again feel safe and secure after six months of the Balikatan training exercise.

"It is our feeling that the presence of the US and the Armed Forces there have created an environment where people want to come home to the homes they had previously left," Teramae said.

She said many residents of remote barangays in Basilan have started to rebuild the homes, churches, mosques and schools.

"It’s an area where people started to come out of their homes after dark. It is a significant success story (because) people in Basilan feel safe and secure," she said.

A US-based relief organization has also begun to assess what kind of assistance it could extend to Basilan residents after the Balikatan exercises end on July 31.

Edward Artis, chairman of the US-based Knightsbridge International which also conducted a relief and rehabilitation mission in Afghanistan, affirmed that Basilan could no longer be considered an unsafe place after the Balikatan exercises.

"This is not an unsafe place and they (the residents) have to thank the Philippine military and the United States military for the benefit of having a safe environment," Artis said.

He encouraged other non-government organizations to come to Basilan if they want their program to have an impact.

"Based on our experience from around the world, this is a safe place for NGOs to come and those who did work with us in the past, those who share their interest in providing care and comfort for simple people, need to look seriously at coming down here and practice what they preach," Artis said.