ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Sept. 30, 2012) – Inamin na rin ng Estados Unidos na gumagamit ito ng mga “advance surveillance” system sa Mindanao sa pakikibaka nito sa terorismo.
Sa ulat na inilabas ng Stars and Stripes na may pamagat na “US provides advanced surveillance capabilities to track down terrorists,” ay sinabi ni Col. Mark Miller, ang commander ng Joint Special Operations Task Force-Philippines (JSOTFP), na “when the Armed Forces of the Philippines requests information, we take their information requirements and we try to answer within whatever means we have over here in country. That includes aerial surveillance, which provides full-motion video.”
Ang JSOTFP ay may malaking kampo sa loob ng Western Mindanao Command sa Zamboanga City.
Sinabi pa sa ulat na: “The high-tech gear has been used to locate terrorists, with the U.S. providing crucial information to Philippine ground forces in capturing or killing several high-ranking Abu Sayyaf leaders.”
Naunang lumutang ang paggamit ng mga Kano sa spy planes at unmanned aerial vehicles sa kanilang operasyon kontra Abu Sayyaf at kahit sa makapal na kagubatan ay natutunton ang mga terorista, ayon kay Miller.
“But perhaps the most important U.S. military contribution has been advanced surveillance capabilities to track down terrorists in dense, remote jungle,” ayon pa sa Stars and Stripes.
Nais naman ni Lt. Gen. Noel Coballes, hepe ng Western Mindanao Command, na magkaroon ng mga naturang high-tech equipment, subalit nasa Estados Unidos naman ang desisyon nito, ayon kay Miller.
“While Miller empathized with Coballes’ desire for so-called intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance equipment, he said it was not within his power to do so because that’s a bigger U.S. government decision on how they want to do that — if they’re going to do that at all,” ayon pa sa ulat.
Tikom naman ang bibig ng mga opisyal ng militar sa naturang pag-amin ng Kano sa kanilang sikretong operasyon sa Zamboanga at iba pang bahabi ng Mindanao. (Mindanao Examiner)
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