'U.S. troops will free oppressed in RP'<\/p>\n
Reuters, Zamboanga, Philippines<\/p>\n
Only a few of these men are built like the steely warriors they
\nare reputed to be. Most look like college freshmen while a few
\nexude the air of university professors.<\/p>\n
But the elite U.S. Green Beret troops that arrived on the
\nsmall Philippine island of Basilan on Sunday have been to some of
\nthe world's hottest flashpoints -- Somalia, Iraq, Haiti, Kosovo,
\nAfghanistan -- carrying the battle cry: \"Liberate the Oppressed\".<\/p>\n
Officially known as special forces, the troops carry America's
\nwar on terror to Basilan, the mainly Muslim island in the
\nsouthern Philippines, for exercises aimed at stamping out Abu
\nSayyaf guerrillas Washington has linked to Osama bin Laden.<\/p>\n
\"We are trained to survive. We're trained for every situation
\nthat could come up, everything,\" Sergeant Bryan McFarland, 24,
\ntold Reuters before two U.S. military helicopters lifted him and
\nhis buddies out of Zamboanga city to Basilan, the Abu Sayyaf's
\nisland stronghold 900 km (560 miles) south of Manila.<\/p>\n
Shaped like a turtle and about three times the size of
\nSingapore, Basilan is clad in jungles so thick you cannot see the
\nenemy five meters (yards) beyond your nose, Filipino soldiers
\nsay.<\/p>\n
The landing of the U.S. special forces on Basilan marked the
\nmost significant expansion of America's campaign against terror
\nafter the destruction of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n
Its fighters from the U.S. Army are better known as the Green
\nBerets, while their Air Force counterparts are dubbed air
\ncommandos. The Navy component, called Naval Special Warfare
\nCommand, is more popularly known as the Seals.<\/p>\n
Officers say each special force unit has its own specialty.
\nCollectively, they are experts in guerrilla warfare and counter
\nterrorism, in conducting raids with the stealth and quickness of
\na cat and the deadliness of a tiger.<\/p>\n
They are experts in surveillance, using high tech equipment,
\nand one of their units, Delta Force, has a reputation for
\nrescuing hostages from behind enemy lines.<\/p>\n
They are trained as sharpshooters and can parachute into enemy
\nterritory from low-flying aircraft or land from assault
\nhelicopters equipped with special radar that enables them to fly
\nthrough the heaviest storms over mountainous terrain.
\nIndividual equipment includes body armour, assault rifles, and
\nnight vision goggles.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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