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American Morning

Threat of Muslim Extremism Widespread in Southeast Asia

Aired March 07, 2002 - 08:33   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: This morning, for the first time in a month, a tape surfaced of an American couple who has been held hostage in the Philippines for almost a year, by the terrorist group Abu Sayeff. Looking tired, the missionaries, Martin and Gracia Burnham, read a statement explaining the group's motives as some of their armed captors can be seen standing behind them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARTIN BURNHAM, HOSTAGE: They are targeting U.S., European and citizens of other western nations for the following reasons. One, the continued desecration of the island of Arabia, especially Mecca and Medina, by the presence of U.S. and European troops and their business interests. Two, their support to the illegitimate Israeli regime that occupies Palestine and the holy city of Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CAFFERTY: Just today police arrested eight Abu Sayeff supporters, including the wives of some of the rebels. Authorities have seized documents and other evidence showing al Qaeda sleeper cells were training in the Philippines.

The U.S. government has deployed over 600 troops to the Philippines to help the government there track down al Qaeda, Abu Sayeff and other terrorist groups operating in that area.

Paolo Pasicolan, with the Heritage Foundation is an expert on southeast Asian affairs and he joins us this morning from Washington. Welcome to "AMERICAN MORNING." It's nice to you have with us.

PAOLO PASICOLAN, HERITAGE FOUNDATION: Thanks for having me.

CAFFERTY: How widespread and how powerful, potentially, is the al Qaeda presence in southeast Asia, particularly in the Philippines?

PASICOLAN: I think the al Qaeda presence in southeast Asia is very dangerous, and it's very widespread but not primarily in the Philippines. I think the bigger problem in southeast Asia, is that they're operating in Indonesia. They have training bases over there and so on and so forth. But, in terms of the Philippines, I think, there are definitely Muslim insurgents and Muslim separatist groups who are sympathetic to al Qaeda but not necessarily al Qaeda operatives (UNINTELLIGIBLE). CAFFERTY: Does that include -- does that include the Abu Sayeff group?

PASICOLAN: Yes. The Abu Sayeff group is a terrorist organization. They're really more a band of thugs and criminals who are sympathetic to al Qaeda. They offer logistical support. For example, in 1995, they helped support Ramsey Yussef when he was over there testing his bomb designs.

CAFFERTY: You wrote a piece for the "Wall Street Journal" earlier this year, and you suggested in that piece, and we'll throw a portion of it up on the screen so our viewers at home can read it for themselves while we talk. But you suggested, basically, that several governments in southeast Asia are simply underestimating "the sinister nature and potential threat of these Muslim extremist groups."

I wonder which governments you were referring to specifically, and talk to me a little bit about how big a danger this represents in your opinion.

PASICOLAN: I think all of the governments in southeast Asia, meaning, the major ones, with large Muslim populations, like Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, the Philippines. Just in -- in late January, they -- Singapore arrested some terrorists, the Gemma Islamia (ph), which I mention in the article, and this group wanted to carve out sections of Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines, and turn it into sort of like an Afghanistan in southeast Asia -- a Muslim super state.

CAFFERTY: Right.

PASICOLAN: And the Singaporean and the Malaysians didn't know they existed before September 11th. Only after the increased scrutiny, after September 11th, did they -- did they clamp down, and they discovered this cell.

So, certainly, I think, they didn't anticipate how deep and how deeply rooted the al Qaeda threat is in southeast Asia.

CAFFERTY: Now, talk to me a little about the politics of American military presence in that part of the world and an effort to address the situation you just described. The Philippines, for example, the government has made it very clear that American military can be there, but, when it comes to actually apprehending and dealing with Abu Sayeff, they want the Americans to keep their hands off.

Yet, there are no laws about terrorism on the books in the Philippines, so, if Philippine authorities even apprehend these people, what happens to them next? And what can the United States do to be an effective presence in trying to combat the threat that you see in that part of the world?

PASICOLAN: I think what the United States is doing now, basically, incremental participation. It went into the Philippines because President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo of the Philippines asked for help. And I think that's good. Especially the way they're conducting -- the American forces are conducting themselves now -- which, they're consulting, they're helping the Philippine military do the work.

5,000 Philippine troops are after the Abu Sayeff with the help of 160 U.S. special forces. Now, the key is for the U.S. to help local governments do the jobs themselves, because the U.S. can't do the job for all of these governments. And another important task for the governments is to work together, which they're beginning to do now.

My understanding is there's a cooperative anti-terrorism coalition between the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia in the works, behind the scenes, and they're going to unveil that sometime in the next few months.

CAFFERTY: Well, that has to be, arguably, the first major step as these governments that you talk about have to recognize the seriousness of the threat and express some willingness to address it. Then the United States can go in and be of more help.

Unfortunately, our time is expired, but I'd like to continue our discussion on the subject at some point in the future here on "AMERICAN MORNING", Paolo. Thank you.

PASICOLAN: Thank you for having me again.

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