thedrifter
07-04-07, 06:41 AM
New commander to lead spec ops in Pacific
By Audrey McAvoy - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Jul 3, 2007 21:56:41 EDT
HONOLULU — An Army general with years of experience in South America took over Tuesday as the new commander of U.S. Special Operations forces in the Pacific, including U.S. efforts to help the Philippines defeat al-Qaida-linked terrorists.
Brig. Gen. Salvatore F. Cambria will oversee Green Berets, Navy SEALs, air commandos and special operations Marines assigned to the Asia-Pacific region.
Hundreds of such forces have been serving in the Philippines since 2002, training local soldiers and promoting humanitarian projects to win over local populations and isolate terrorists.
Cambria will oversee the Philippine operation from his headquarters at Camp H.M. Smith in the hills above Pearl Harbor.
He comes to Hawaii from the U.S. Southern Command in Miami where he was the director of operations for U.S. troops in Central and South America.
“A lot of things that the special operations forces are doing in Latin America, folks are doing here in this theater,” Cambria said after a change of command ceremony. “They’re very similar. Just different countries, different regions.”
Cambria succeeds Maj. Gen. David P. Fridovich, who has been promoted to help lead global anti-terror efforts from U.S. Special Operations command headquarters in Tampa, Fla.
Fridovich led Special Operations Command-Pacific for 2 1/2 years. He commanded U.S. forces in the Philippines on the ground for six months from the start of the anti-terror operation in January 2002.
He’s pushed an “indirect approach” to fighting terror when possible, which he says requires long-term efforts to address the root causes of terror. If poverty is fueling support for insurgents and terrorists, the indirect approach would have special operations troops promote infrastructure and humanitarian projects to help the poor even as they train local troops how to kill.
While the approach has been successful in the Philippines, many say it has limited application in places like Iraq and Afghanistan because local militaries and other institutions in both countries are barely functioning.
The Philippine al-Qaida linked group Abu Sayyaf, with an estimated 300 to 400 armed rebels, has been blamed for deadly bombings and ransom kidnappings. They have victimized American nationals and are on a U.S. list of terror organizations.
The group lost its leader, Khaddafy Janjalani, in September during a clash with Philippine marines on southern Jolo island.
In January, U.S.-trained Philippine army special forces gunned down his presumed successor, Abu Sulaiman, on Jolo.
Ellie
By Audrey McAvoy - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Jul 3, 2007 21:56:41 EDT
HONOLULU — An Army general with years of experience in South America took over Tuesday as the new commander of U.S. Special Operations forces in the Pacific, including U.S. efforts to help the Philippines defeat al-Qaida-linked terrorists.
Brig. Gen. Salvatore F. Cambria will oversee Green Berets, Navy SEALs, air commandos and special operations Marines assigned to the Asia-Pacific region.
Hundreds of such forces have been serving in the Philippines since 2002, training local soldiers and promoting humanitarian projects to win over local populations and isolate terrorists.
Cambria will oversee the Philippine operation from his headquarters at Camp H.M. Smith in the hills above Pearl Harbor.
He comes to Hawaii from the U.S. Southern Command in Miami where he was the director of operations for U.S. troops in Central and South America.
“A lot of things that the special operations forces are doing in Latin America, folks are doing here in this theater,” Cambria said after a change of command ceremony. “They’re very similar. Just different countries, different regions.”
Cambria succeeds Maj. Gen. David P. Fridovich, who has been promoted to help lead global anti-terror efforts from U.S. Special Operations command headquarters in Tampa, Fla.
Fridovich led Special Operations Command-Pacific for 2 1/2 years. He commanded U.S. forces in the Philippines on the ground for six months from the start of the anti-terror operation in January 2002.
He’s pushed an “indirect approach” to fighting terror when possible, which he says requires long-term efforts to address the root causes of terror. If poverty is fueling support for insurgents and terrorists, the indirect approach would have special operations troops promote infrastructure and humanitarian projects to help the poor even as they train local troops how to kill.
While the approach has been successful in the Philippines, many say it has limited application in places like Iraq and Afghanistan because local militaries and other institutions in both countries are barely functioning.
The Philippine al-Qaida linked group Abu Sayyaf, with an estimated 300 to 400 armed rebels, has been blamed for deadly bombings and ransom kidnappings. They have victimized American nationals and are on a U.S. list of terror organizations.
The group lost its leader, Khaddafy Janjalani, in September during a clash with Philippine marines on southern Jolo island.
In January, U.S.-trained Philippine army special forces gunned down his presumed successor, Abu Sulaiman, on Jolo.
Ellie