A Plan to Use Troops to Rescue Missionaries

In the closing hours of 2001, a Kansas congressman hoped to persuade the Philippine government to allow U.S. troops to help rescue an American missionary couple held hostage for more than half of the year by terrorists linked to the al-Qaeda network.

Republican Todd Tiahrt met with President Gloria Arroyo on New Year's Day, and also planned to make a flying visit over the southern island where gunmen have been holding Martin and Gracia Burnham for the past seven months.

Speaking to reporters, Arroyo confirmed the meeting, although she would not divulge the subject matter. [Further reports have not yet been issued.]

Manila has welcomed U.S. assistance and advice as it battles the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), a kidnap-for-hostage gang which claims to be fighting for an Islamic state in the southern portion of the predominantly Roman Catholic country.

Last year it elicited millions of dollars in ransom for the lives of another group of hostages, including foreigners.

Arroyo has said repeatedly that the Philippines would not allow foreign forces to participate in military operations. She repeated that view Sunday, saying, "it will be difficult to send American combatants" to Basilan, the jungle-covered island where the army has been hunting the militants for months. U.S. soldiers could offer their expertise only as advisors or trainers, she added.

But Tiahrt was quoted earlier as making his mission to the Philippines clear. He would try to urge Arroyo to allow American troops to join a rescue operation.

"The whole purpose of the trip is to try to get our troops involved in the rescue," he said. "We have highly trained, highly skilled professionals at hostage rescue but we are always courteous to ask for the invitation from the [host] government. We haven't had the invitation yet."

Tiahrt made the trip of behalf of Martin Burnham's parents, Paul and Oreta, who live in Rose Hill, Kansas. The senior Burnhams have themselves been Christian missionaries in the Philippines, and Martin was born there.

Martin and Gracia Burnham, both 42, were seized by about 20 ASG members while celebrating their 18th wedding anniversary at an island resort on May 27. Also captured was a third American, California diving enthusiast Guillermo Sobero, as well as 13 Filipino tourists and four resort staff.

Sobero was later beheaded by ASG gang members, as were a dozen Filipinos. The remainder either escaped or were freed - reportedly in return for ransom, despite Manila's stated refusal to pay ransom.

The group now only holds the Burnhams and a Filipino nurse, Deborah Yap, who was among a second group of hostages taken captive on June 2, from a town on Basilan island.

Difficult terrain

In recent months, the Philippine Army has stepped up efforts to rescue the hostages and capture the terrorists, with training and equipment provided by the U.S.

A self-imposed army deadline to free the captives by Christmas Day came and went. Arroyo said Sunday only a matter of three kilometers separated the gunmen and the pursuing troops, but dense jungle made the task very difficult. "In just 10 feet of forest in Basilan, you won't be able to see the other side," she told a television show host. "That's how thick the Basilan forests are."

Lieut.-Gen. Roy Cimatu, head of the armed forces' southern command, had said this weekend his troops still hoped to carry out the rescue by year's end.

Government spokesman Rigoberto Tiglao said the terrorists were hemmed in, but the army had held off bombing, so as not to risk the lives of the hostages.

Tiahrt expressed fear that the Burnhams would die if not freed soon. "The Burnhams have been there for seven months, going on eight. They are physically weakened," he said. "I have spoken to their parents and they think something needs to happen or they are afraid the couple will perish. It is a matter of timing now."

Chief of the armed forces, Gen. Diomedio Villanueva, confirmed he would accompany Tiahrt to Basilan, where the congressman wanted to see the area for himself. Tiahrt reportedly is traveling with a U.S. Marine colonel and State Department officials.

U.S. trainers

Both the U.S. and Philippine governments claim the ASG has links to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network, which the U.S. holds responsible for the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington. In the aftermath of Sept. 11, the U.S. provided military advisors to train Philippine troops for their mission to destroy the terrorists.

A new American team is due to begin training Philippine soldiers in mid-January near Zamboanga, the largest city in the southern region. An army spokesman said the Americans would bring helicopters and other equipment to make night-time operations more effective.

Cimatu said the Americans would be there for a prolonged stay, during which they would be permitted to carry weapons for self-defense

Tiahrt met Arroyo before to exchange views about the hostages, during a visit by the president to Washington last month. At the time he said he was "confident the Philippine government has been as vigilant as possible in securing the safe release of Martin and Gracia."

The Burnhams, who have three children aged between 11 and 14, have been attached to the Florida-based New Tribes Mission (NTM) since 1985.

NTM in a weekend statement once again urged supporters to pray for their safe release. "The Philippine government and military have apparently ruled out any options but military intervention and this is a dangerous proposition," the organization said. "Martin is reported to be always chained to a tree or to one of his guards."