Americans In Trouble

It seems that we have another terrorist organization out and about and targeting Americans. The group, Abu Sayyaf, wants to see if they can bring America to its knees. They will not succeed, despite the fact they are holding Jeffrey Schilling, an American from California.

Schilling, a convert to Islam, was in that particular region of the Philippines seeking a wife in this Muslim toehold of a predominantly Roman Catholic country. Those holding Edwards say he is with the CIA, which more than likely is far from the truth. The American Embassy has denied any claim of Schilling’s involvement.

The State Department has wisely reiterated longstanding American policy not to pay ransoms to kidnappers or terrorists. We did not pay ransoms when Americans were getting scooped up in Lebanon in the 1980’s. We also need to remember that the terrorists do not always win.

A good case in point was the kidnap of US Army Brigadier General James Dozier in Italy, by a faction of the Red Brigade in the 1970’s. Less than six weeks later, Dozier was rescued in dramatic fashion, and that was the beginning of the end for many of the European-based cells of terrorism. Most of the terrorist groups that still exist now operate out of the Middle East.

The terrorists holding Schilling want among other things, the release of three Arabs currently in US prisons for terrorist acts in connection with the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center in New York. The United States cannot and will not cave to terrorist demands - to do so would be to declare open season on Americans traveling abroad.

The group intends to execute Schilling if their demands are not met. They then intend to round up another American and so on and so on. To them, one American is worth ten Europeans.

This group, Abu Sayyaf, is the smaller of two Muslim groups fighting for an independent homeland in the southern Philippines. This group reportedly has links to Osama bin-Laden, who is in hiding in Afghanistan and is perhaps the most wanted terrorist in the world. The FBI even has him on their Ten Most Wanted List.

There is no way that the United States is going to let loose any of these guys, particularly in light of the fact that one of them was involved not only in the bombing of the World Trade Center, but was also involved in a plot to assassinate both President Clinton and Pope John Paul II when they visited Manila. The one guy’s cover was blown and he went into hiding. He was extradited under pressure from the US when they finally found him in Pakistan.

What we need to do is get some good CIA intelligence estimates and send in the Delta Force to good old-fashioned butt kicking. The only effective way to deal with terrorists is to not only destroy them, but to annihilate them. We need to send a message that we don’t take crap from anybody. We need to let the world know that if an American is hurt by a terrorist, that the full force, power and fury of the United States will be unleashed against them.

I remember back in the 1980’s when not only Americans were getting scooped up in Beirut, but a couple of Soviets were kidnapped as well. A day or so later, two terrorists were taken and butchered by the Soviets. The Soviets were promptly released with something akin to an apology.

It’s time that we took a page from the playbook that the Soviets were able to use so effectively. It may be harsh, but it will make for a very effective deterrent to those who would do harm to Americans traveling and allow for us as a people to feel safer when we travel far from home.

You can e-mail your comments to Timothy at trollins@idirect.com.

Copyright © 2000 by Timothy Rollins.
All Rights Reserved.

-Published with permission