Balik Terrorism: The Return of the Abu Sayyaf

Abstract

Abstract : Since early 2002, U.S. forces have provided training and intelligence support to members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) as a component of Operation Enduring Freedom. The AFP have been engaged in combat with the Group (ASG), a group previously known for its brutal, though hardly political, kidnappings. Though Abu Sayyaf is usually proceeded with the words the Qaeda-linked, there was little tangible evidence of such a link from the mid-1990s to 2002. From its founding in 1991 by Afghan veteran Abdurrajak Janjalani through Ramzi Yousef's Bojinka Plot in 1995, the links were clear and convincing. However, in 2002, the leaders of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), al Qaeda's regional affiliate responsible for the bombings of the Sari Nightclub in Bali (October 2002), the J. W. Marriott Hotel (August 2003), and the Australian Embassy (September 2004), were reeling from a number of arrests and setbacks. JI's leadership ordered their Mindanao-based operatives to restore ties to the Sayaaf. Since then, the group has waged a steady and consistent campaign of urban terrorism. Though they are not the greatest threat to Philippine security, they have the ability to create economic instability. Their terrorist capabilities have steadily improved. The conflict against the is complicated by the ongoing peace process between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), a 10,000-12,000 man strong insurgent force fighting for an independent Islamic state since 1978, and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP). This monograph provides an in-depth analysis of the ASG and the triangular relationship between them, the MILF, and JI. It seeks to understand the regional impact that this group's resurgence will have on the war on terror in Southeast Asia, and the impact on America and her allies. The Strategic Studies Institute is pleased to offer this monograph as part of the ongoing debate on global and regional security.