NO LET UP IN COUNTERTERRORISM OPERATIONS ON JOLO

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MANILA 001086 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP, PM, AND EAP/MTS USPACOM ALSO FOR FPA HUSO AND J5 SECDEF/OSD/ISA/AP (TOOLAN/REDMON) JOINT STAFF/J5 (WILKES/ROBINSON/CLEMMONS) E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/04/2017 TAGS: PTER MOPS MASS MCAP PREL RP SUBJECT: NO LET UP IN COUNTERTERRORISM OPERATIONS ON JOLO REF: A. MANILA 0255 ¶B. MANILA 0241 ¶C. MANILA 0196 AND PREVIOUS Classified By: (U) Ambassador Kristie A. Kenney for reasons 1.4(b) and (d). ¶1. (C/REL AUS) SUMMARY. Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff General Esperon announced April 1 the end of "Operation Ultimatum," the successful months-long effort targeting the Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah leadership on the island of Jolo. General Esperon, however, intends no let up in operations. He has directed his commanders to pursue intensified civil-military activity and targeted, intelligence-driven, surgical military action to track down Bali bombers Dulmatin and Umar Patek and other remaining terrorists. END SUMMARY. BATTLE AIN'T OVER, ALTHOUGH OPERATION ULTIMATUM IS -------------- -------------- ¶2. (C/REL AUS) Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff General Hermogenes Esperon announced to the press April 1 the end of "Operation Ultimatum," the months-long counterterrorism campaign targeting the Abu Sayyaf Group and Jemaah Islamiyah leadership on the southern island of Jolo. Launched on August 1, 2006, the combined operation involving thousands of AFP soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines, has brought about the deaths of Khadaffy Janjalani and Abu Solaiman, the top two leaders of the Abu Sayyaf Group, killed scores of other terrorists in military operations, and eliminated major base camps and safe havens. (Septel will describe some of "Ultimatum's" successes.) ¶3. (C/REL AUS) General Esperon told Ambassador, however, that the "end" of operations will only be semantics. He confirmed that the AFP does not intend to let up on the hunt for Bali bombers Dulmatin and Umar Patek and other remaining terrorists, who are still at large on the island. General Esperon added that he planned to expand civil-military operations in a continuing effort to isolate the Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah, while still continuing aggressive operations to track them down. He commented that the emphasis on civil-military operations might "fool" the terrorists into thinking that the AFP was letting down its guard. ¶4. (C/REL AUS) According to officers of the Joint Special Operations Task Force-Philippines, General Esperon has directed Lieutenant General Cedo, the commander of Western Mindanao Command, to develop a follow-up plan to "Ultimatum." This new directive would include "heavy" civil-military and internal security operations. Western Mindanao Command's Task Force Comet nonetheless continues to plan and execute intelligence-based combat operations on Jolo without let up, having recently cleared neighboring Capual Island of terrorists and forced them to separate into smaller groups. ¶5. (U) In his remarks to the press, Esperon confirmed that the new operation would not involve any cut in forces, and vowed that "we will not stop until we get these suspects." COMMENT -------------- ¶6. (C/REL AUS) General Esperon's tenure as Chief of Staff has featured aggressive and tenacious combat operations, and will most likely continue to do so. Having personally fought against the Abu Sayyaf Group as a battalion commander on the island of Basilan, Esperon has a special interest in ending this terrorist threat once and for all. The emphasis on civil-military operations is astute, and builds on our partnership with the AFP in Basilan and now Jolo. Much of the AFP's success on Jolo can be attributed to its careful, targeted efforts to win over the civilian population and to its increasingly precise, intelligence-driven combat operations. The AFP's dogged pursuit of the remaining terrorists until they face justice (or death in battle) will endure. MANILA 00001086 002 OF 002 Visit Embassy Manila's Classified website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eap/manila/index. cfm KENNEY