WHILE MANY OF US were enjoying our Christmas turkeys and toasting the New Year, two Americans spent the holidays deep in the jungles of the Philippines, their bodies malnourished, their mouths covered with sores, on the verge of mental breakdown, and led around on leashes by terrorists. It is now more than seven months since the Muslim separatist group Abu Sayyaf abducted Kansas missionaries Martin and Gracia Burnham, along with 18 other tourists, from a resort on Palawan island. Last June, one of the Americans, Guillermo Sobero, was beheaded. The Abu Sayyaf currently holds three hostages–the Burnhams and a Filipino nurse, Deborah Yap. Philippine Southern Command chief Roy Cimatu had promised to rescue the remaining hostages by Christmas. That deadline passed. Then Rigoberto Tiglao, spokesman for President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, said the prisoners would be freed by New Year’s. That day also came and went. It’s the sort of disappointment friends of the Burnham family are used to. Scott Ross, of the New Tribes Mission, with which the Burnhams are affiliated, said he’s heard this all before: “First they said October. Then November. Then Ramadan. We’ll believe it when we see it.” It’s not that the Philippines isn’t trying. Forty-three of its soldiers have lost their lives fighting the terrorists since the hostages’ capture. And the government asked the United States for help in the form of training, logistics, and military equipment. Washington obliged, supplying a $92million aid package that included eight Huey helicopters, a C-130 transport, and 30,000 M-16s. It also dispatched an Army assessment team, rumored to be members of the Delta Force. This team is now training a new elite all-Filipino counterterrorism unit, the Light Reaction Company. The Philippine military is asking for more in the way of surveillance gear, or “target acquisition assets.” But now pressure is mounting for America to be actively engaged in the rescue campaign. The Burnhams’ parents and the New Tribes Mission have been lobbying the Bush administration to get more involved in freeing the hostages. And just last week, Representative Todd Tiahrt of Kansas flew to the Philippines to meet with military and government officials to push for a more active U.S. role. “Americans should be standing shoulder to shoulder with the Filipinos,” he told me. The Philippine government, however, is steadfast in its insistence that no foreign troops set foot in the country. It’s a sticking point in the constitution: To allow Americans to fight alongside Filipinos would require an act of Congress. Such an act may never be passed. President Arroyo is not exactly popular right now–even with her own cabinet. Coups have been attempted. Senators are trying to embarrass her by brokering ransom deals. Meanwhile, tourism is collapsing. The economy is in a shambles, and things won’t improve until the country is rid of the terrorists. Hence Arroyo’s compromise: American training but not American troops. “‘Training’ is definitely the key word,” says Tiahrt, but he adds, “I would like to call it ‘on-the-job’ training.” The congressman met with key officials in both the Philippine government and military. He admits the job isn’t easy. “The terrain is steep and rugged, lush with vegetation. It’s all canopies, and you can practically hide a whole football field full of soldiers underneath it and you wouldn’t see it from a plane. . . . There are fires on the ground that you can’t see from the sky.” Tiahrt actually flew over Basilan island, where the terrorists and their prisoners are hidden. But this is all the more reason to send in U.S. Special Forces, whose expertise would complement Philippine efforts. There are currently more than 5,000 Filipino soldiers on Basilan, and the Abu Sayyaf are bottled up in a mere three-by-three-kilometer area. Astonishingly, there are believed to be only around 18 members of Abu Sayyaf left. But the Philippine Marines are being pulled back and replaced by Philippine Army regulars. And the Light Reaction Company trained by U.S. specialists has yet to be called to duty. More frustrating, at least one Filipino soldier has had visual confirmation of the Burnhams’ whereabouts. In other words, there are about 278 Filipino soldiers for every terrorist, and the potential field of operations is extremely small. Yet, the Burnhams languish and America must wait. It’s possible, of course, that there is more to this compromise than meets the eye. Sources say Arroyo dearly wants the Americans to do whatever it takes to eliminate Abu Sayyaf and free the hostages. Under the guise of “training,” U.S. Special Forces may actually be able to engage covertly in rescue efforts. “It gets very complicated, and the Philippine government is extremely sensitive to what terms the Americans use,” says a congressional source familiar with the crisis. “They don’t like the word ‘involvement.’ They prefer ‘cooperation.’ But there could be many more Americans involved in the coming months.” While it is in both countries’ best interests to stop terrorism and rescue the hostages, it is–or should be–absolutely imperative for the United States to do whatever it takes to free its own people. Says Tiahrt, “After Afghanistan, this is the next priority because there are Americans at risk. Besides that, if it were me, and I’m sure if it were you, as an American, you’d hope America would come to your rescue.” Keep hoping. Victorino Matus is an assistant managing editor at The Weekly Standard.
