The war against the communists is on again, under the framework of WAT-WOT and whatnot ... will the socialists be next?
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Philippine Rebels Warn of Attacks on U.S. Targets
Sun Aug 18, 7:21 AM ET
MANILA (Reuters) - Communist rebels in the Philippines will attack American troops and act against U.S. business interests there if U.S. forces join the local military's fight against them, a rebel spokesman said.
Reuters
Slideshow: U.S. Forces Aid Philippine Military
"Revolutionary and progressive forces must act to block the aggressive war even before it is launched and thwart it the moment U.S. troops enter the Philippines," communist party spokesman Gregorio Rosal said in a statement.
The statement, obtained by Reuters Sunday, followed moves by the U.S. government last week to put the party and its armed wing, the New People's Army (NPA), on a terrorist blacklist under a law allowing Washington to block any of their U.S. assets.
The Philippine constitution bars the presence of foreign combat troops in the country and Manila and Washington both say American forces have no intention of fighting on Philippine soil.
But U.S. special forces recently ended six months of training Philippine troops in counter terrorism, with the focus of those exercises being Muslim rebel and kidnap groups in the south of the mainly Christian country.
The communist statement, in Filipino, was dated August 14 and initially released to reporters in the northern Philippines.
There was no immediate comment from the U.S. Embassy.
Spokesman Rosal said the U.S. blacklisting of the communist party and the NPA was a prelude to a U.S. "aggressive war."
"Sooner or later, the U.S. will definitely suffer many casualties among American troops, who are all vulnerable targets of tactical offensives by the people's army," Rosal said, adding that labor strikes may also hit U.S. multinational companies.
"In addition, the (NPA) has a wide range of options calculated to make things difficult for the operation of these multinational companies," Rosal said.
Leftist sources said such options would include attacks.
More than 40,000 people have died in 33 years of violence associated with the NPA fight to establish a Marxist state in this former American colony.
One victim was a U.S. Army colonel shot dead by communist assassins in Manila in 1989. Leftist groups have kidnapped several Americans and attacked offices of U.S. companies.
More than 1,000 U.S. troops took part in counter terrorism exercises to help Filipinos defeat the Muslim Abu Sayyaf group linked by Washington to Osama bin Laden ( news - web sites) and his al Qaeda network.
Hundreds of American soldiers are still in the Philippines finishing various civic action and medical projects.
More counter-terrorism training is planned by the two militaries in October. |
