New US President Should Keep Troops In Philippines

From The International Herald Tribune:

MANILA, Philippines: The next U.S. president should keep American counterterrorism troops in the southern Philippines, where they have helped prevent the emergence of a key base for al-Qaida-linked militants, a military official said Tuesday.

The Philippine government expects no major changes in its close ties with Washington, whoever wins the U.S. elections. But some Filipino analysts have speculated that a victory by Democrat Barack Obama could lead to a reduction or even a withdrawal of U.S. troops from the southern Mindanao region, where the Philippine military has been battling a decades-long Islamist insurgency.

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