US Special Forces may continue Philippines small unit
training
US Special Forces are likely
to continue training small units of the Philippines armed
forces after the bulk of us forces are withdrawn at the
end of a six-month training exercise July 31, US defense
secretary Donald Rumsfeld has said.
Rumsfeld told reporters yesterday that company-level
training was expected to begin later this month or next
and would likely be carried over under a new phase of
counter-terrorism training.
"We very likely will continue - not continue, but
have some arrangement with respect to operating with somewhat
smaller levels," he said.
The pentagon officials have said US Special Forces will
be given permission to go on patrols with the Filipinos
as part of the small unit training.
Asked about the patrolling, Rumsfeld said, "I mean,
in training and exercising, you end up being around. And
if that's a patrol, it's a patrol. And if it's not, it's
not."
Some 660 us troops have been in the southern Philippines
since early February to train and assist Filipino units
hunting down a Muslim rebel group with loose links to
al Qaeda.
A leader of the group was reported killed in a gunbattle
with Filipino commandos off the coast of Zamboanga last
week.
Washington,,
June 27, 2002 (Zee News)
