The New Fronts
By Mitch Frank
Most world leaders probably would not want their country to be compared with Afghanistan. But some are learning that if they pledge to move against terrorists operating in their territory, the U.S. will give them money, weapons and military training. No wonder Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo called the island where Abu Sayyaf terrorists roam her "little Afghanistan." George W. Bush has made it clear that the U.S. will follow al-Qaeda wherever it goes. Now Americans are tracking suspects in the Philippines, Yemen and Georgia.
U.S. special forces are on Basilan Island training Philippine soldiers to hunt down the Abu Sayyaf Group, a terrorist gang holding three hostages, including two U.S. missionaries. Green Berets and Philippine Scout Rangers are watching the gang and may try a rescue soon. But the joint exercises are just a warm-up. Abu Sayyaf is more a gang of local kidnappers than a global Islamist terrorist organization. But two larger groups linked to al-Qaeda are in the Philippines. Better-trained soldiers and intelligence agents could help contain al-Qaeda operations inside the country and in nearby Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia.
 U.S. Special Forces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
U.S. Support Troops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .500
Philippine Troops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,800
Some Muslim residents have told the Yankees to go home, but most Filipinos seem to support the operation, happy to see American dollars return after the U.S. closed two large bases a decade ago. Bush has pledged $100 million in security assistance this year.
U.S. and Philippine intelligence agents are sniffing out al-Qaeda cells. Three Jordanians and one Palestinian who all had lived in the country for a decade were arrested late last year, suspected of planning attacks. Jemaah Islamia has been plotting strikes all over the region—members were caught in Singapore last year. "I think the Americans need a launching pad and a listening post in Asia," says a foreign diplomat in Manila. "What better place than the Philippines?"
Chechen rebels, a few with al-Qaeda links, have long been hiding in Georgia' s Pankisi Gorge, a lawless valley full of refugees. Russia asked Georgia for permission to send in troops. Now a dozen al-Qaeda fleeing Afghanistan have snuck into the area. Georgia has turned to the U.S. instead; American military advisers will arrive this month to train élite battalions.
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A dozen al-Qaeda terrorists:
Georgian police have arrested Middle Eastern travelers in Tbilisi. Others are thought to be hiding in the gorge.
Several hundred Chechen rebels are in the gorge, some of whom are Islamists with al-Qaeda links.
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U.S. Military Advisers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100-200
U.S. Helicopters Bought Last Year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Elite Georgian Troops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,500
Pankisi Gorge is home to the Chechen-Georgian Kists. Chechen fighters move freely between the area and their own rebellious republic across the mountainous border. The nine-mile-long, thickly forested valley has also become a haven for drugs, gun running and kidnappings. Many residents would like it cleaned up.
Al-Qaeda threat is small, but Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze is hoping that U.S. help will stabilize his troubled nation. The 20,000-man army is a rabble, and three regions— Abkhazia, Adjaria and South Ossetia—have been trying to secede (with Russian encouragement). Late last week the Georgian Interior Minister made the farfetched claim that al-Qaeda members were in Abkhazia. Russia is happy to have someone confront the Chechen rebels, but it worries about America's influence in former Soviet territory. Between Georgia and the Central Asian states, the U.S. will have troops in four former Soviet Republics.
Osama bin Laden's ancestral home has been an al-Qaeda haven for years. The U.S. plans to send as many as 100 military advisers to train Yemeni troops to hunt down terrorists. The FBI and intelligence agencies are also cultivating closer ties. The Yemeni government is eager for a better relationship with the U.S. because the country is desperately poor, with little oil, and its tribes are notoriously difficult to control.
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A widespread al-Qaeda organization:
Al-Qaeda cells were operating here before 9/11. More members have arrived from Afghanistan in recent months.
Tribes in the lawless Mareb, Aljawf and Shabwah regions are said to be sheltering many al-Qaeda members.
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U.S. Military Advisers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
President Ali Abdullah Saleh wants U.S. aid. His nation was cut off by America and Saudi Arabia in 1991 for supporting Saddam Hussein during the Gulf War. American ties improved in 1999 when the U.S. and Saleh reached an agreement to refuel American naval vessels in the Port of Aden, but the 2000 attack on the U.S.S. Cole in Aden strained relations again. Many in the government are anti-American, including the Islamist minority party in parliament.
Cooperation between Yemeni authorities and the FBI has improved since the Cole investigation. Several al-Qaeda members are now in jail. Troops searched the Mareb region for hidden al-Qaeda members as well. Details about U.S. military advisers must still be worked out.
—Reported by Anthony Davis and Nelly Sindayen/Manila, Scott MacLeod/Cairo and Paul Quinn-Judge/Moscow
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