Bush set to approve terror combat mission in Philippines

President Bush is on the verge of escalating his worldwide war against terrorism by authorizing some of the American Green Berets now in the Philippines to fight the Abu Sayyaf extremist group there themselves instead of just training the Philippine army to combat the rebels, senior administration officials disclosed Monday.

The plan, which Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is said to have approved, calls for four teams of six Green Berets each to initiate this new combat phase. The existing firebreak between U.S. Army Green Berets advising and fighting in the Philippines will be crossed if the plan is implemented, U.S. officials acknowledged to CongressDaily.

Another sign of deepening U.S. military commitment is a scheduled visit to the Philippines this week by Gen. Eric Shinseki, Army Chief of Staff, who plans to discuss the joint campaign against terrorism.

A number of lawmakers have raised fears that Bush is biting off more than the American military can chew by ordering soldiers to chase terrorist groups all over the world at the same time the president is preparing to invade Iraq with about 200,000 troops. Sending Green Berets into harm's way in the Philippines is bound to provoke new concern and questions in Congress, especially against the backdrop of an ever more threatening North Korea, which has resumed development of nuclear weapons.

Negotiations over the use of U.S. forces in the Philippines have been going on at a furious pace over the past several days between Arroyo, Bush and their advisers at the White House, State Department and Pentagon, according to knowledgeable officials who declined to be identified. One holdup, they added, has been a series of questions raised by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld as he has reviewed the plans for making Green Berets trigger pullers, not just advisers, who would move shoulder-to-shoulder with Filipino troops into dangerous areas.

Bush and Arroyo have developed a close relationship through telephone conversations about the terrorist threat to both their countries, White House officials said, and soon will be talking face-to-face when she comes here for a state visit April 2, only the third of Bush's administration.

Last year, about 1,200 U.S. troops, including about 160 from the U.S. Special Operations Command, went to the Philippines to train Filipino solders as part of a six-month counterterrorism effort. Plans call for a new batch of about 400 to participate with Filipino troops in a counterterrorism exercise in the southern Philippines in two weeks. About 600 U.S. Marines, recently arrived at the former U.S. naval base in Subic Bay, are to participate in another joint training exercise with Filipino forces.

White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer, discussing Arroyo's upcoming visit, said Monday that the U.S.-Filipino effort is widening, declaring that Bush is looking forward to talking with Arroyo during her visit about "how the United States and Philippines can further bilateral relations, including cooperation in the war against terror."