From: eskrima-digest-owner@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com To: eskrima-digest@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com Subject: Inayan_Eskrima/FMA-Digest V8 #498 Reply-To: eskrima@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com Errors-To: eskrima-digest-owner@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com Precedence: Inayan_Eskrima/FMA-Digest Tues, 20 Nov 2001 Vol 08 : Num 498 In this issue: eskrima: Krav Maga eskrima: New "Bruce Lee" movie eskrima: Stratfor analysis eskrima: . ========================================================================== Eskrima-Digest, serving the Internet since June 1994. 1200 members strong! Copyright 1994-2001: Ray Terry and Martial Arts Resource The premier internet discussion forum devoted to Filipino Martial Arts. Provided in memory of Mangisursuro Michael G. Inay (1944-2000). http://InayanEskrima.com Replying to this message will NOT unsubscribe you. To unsubscribe, send "unsubscribe eskrima-digest" (no quotes) in the body (top line, left justified) of a "plain text" e-mail addressed to majordomo@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com. To send e-mail to this list use eskrima@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com See the Filipino Martial Arts (FMA) FAQ and the online search engine for back issues of the Eskrima-Digest at http://MartialArtsResource.com Mabuhay ang eskrima! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: POWERFACTOR71839@aol.com Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2001 21:58:10 EST Subject: eskrima: Krav Maga Has anyone viewed the video series by the Krav Maga group?? I am wondering if anyone on the digest has been impressed by a particular practitioner or perhaps an Israeli operative who had lots of real world action and now is teaching in the US. You can take this to private email if you wish, Tom Furman powerfactor71839@aol.com ------------------------------ From: Ariel R Urera Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2001 22:57:35 -0500 Subject: eskrima: New "Bruce Lee" movie I came across a news article which fellow Bruce Lee fans might find interesting. Here's the link: http://www.msnbc.com/news/658537.asp ------------------------------ From: "Marc Denny" Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2001 23:27:58 -0800 Subject: eskrima: Stratfor analysis Woof All: This from www.Stratfor.com Comments? Woof, Crafty Dog - ------------------------------------------ Rebel Cooperation a Blow to Philippine Government 2320 GMT, 011119 Summary At least 55 people were killed in clashes between the Philippine army and Islamic rebels Nov. 19. The fighting reportedly was started by a faction of the Moro National Liberation Front, in association with members of the al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group. The potential cooperation between the Abu Sayyaf and the MNLF could signal a renewal of the cycle of violence in the Philippines, undermining any attempts at economic recovery. Analysis Some 200 to 400 soldiers from the Muslim rebel group known as the Moro National Liberation Front launched an assault on a Philippine infantry headquarters on the island of Jolo early Nov. 19. The attack and retaliatory strikes by the military left at least 55 people dead. It also marked the biggest violation to date of the 1996 peace accord between the MNLF and the Philippine government. The attack was likely coordinated -- if not jointly carried out -- with the Abu Sayyaf, a smaller Muslim militant group linked to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network. This cooperation, while revealing a serious rift within the MNLF, ultimately points to a new wave of violence in the southern Philippines that could both spill into metro Manila and undermine the government's attempts to revitalize the economy. The renewed fighting comes as Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is on a weeklong visit to the United States, which includes a Nov. 20 meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush. Arroyo is discussing Philippine cooperation in the U.S.-led anti-terror campaign and is seeking to restore investor confidence in the Philippines. The lack of economic growth in the southern Philippines feeds the country's Islamic insurgencies, but the fighting in turn keeps potential aid and investment at bay. The assault in Jolo occurred just one week before scheduled elections in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao, a semi-autonomous Muslim-rule area established under the 1996 peace accord. MNLF founder and former chairman Nur Misuari, also the current governor of the region, is not running and has strongly opposed the Manila-backed elections as a violation of the accord. Thorny Obstacles to Philippines Cease-Fire The largest Muslim rebel group in the Philippines has signed a formal cease-fire with the government. The agreement lays the groundwork for formal peace negotiations, which Manila hopes will end three decades of fighting. Several problems remain before peace can be achieved, including rivalries within the Islamic community and the unresolved economic underpinnings of the conflict. Analysis The government of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) signed a cease-fire on Aug. 7 that raises hopes for an end to 30 years of fighting that has claimed more than 120,000 lives in the southern Philippines. Misuari has been sidelined steadily both within the MNLF and the Muslim community as a whole. His many detractors in the militant group accuse him of failing to use effectively government funds to strengthen the autonomous region while Misuari blames the Philippine government for not fulfilling its economic promises to the southern Philippines. The Arroyo administration has also contributed to Misuari's fade from glory by tacitly and overtly supporting other factions within the MNLF. The group's leadership, emboldened by Manila's support, earlier this year voted to remove Misuari as chairman and give him an honorary position. Arroyo has also engaged the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, long a competitor to the MNLF, in representing the ambitions of the Islamic cause in the southern Philippines. In offering a greater role for the MILF in the autonomous region, Manila further weakened Misuari's grip on power. Misuari and his supporters are striking back. Although the MNLF abandoned its militant methods and pro-independence stance when it signed the 1996 accords, many of its members remain dissatisfied with the progress of the autonomous region and Manila's relationship with the MILF. Sidelined in his role as a purely political leader, Misuari is now drawing on his roots as a militant to again gain credibility. A major problem for the government now is Misuari's apparent olive branch to the Abu Sayyaf, a group responsible for several bombings, kidnappings, executions and robberies during the past decade. The group has been the target of a major Philippine military assault for months, particularly on its Basilan island stronghold. Just one day before the attack in Jolo, the southern command chief for the military revealed Misuari was forging an alliance with the Abu Sayyaf to disrupt the Nov. 26 autonomous region elections. The chief referred specifically to a Nov. 8 meeting between Misuari and three Abu Sayyaf commanders, including the leaders of a Jolo-based faction that ransomed off several foreign and domestic hostages kidnapped from a Malaysian dive resort in April 2000. Despite the warning, the army was apparently caught off guard by the assault on its base in Jolo. The attack included not only MNLF rebels, with possible Abu Sayyaf assistance, but also former guerrillas who had been integrated into the Philippine army but then broke ranks and rejoined with the rebels, according to several reports. The military launched several reciprocal strikes, and the fighting died down by evening. However, the MNLF faction and the Abu Sayyaf will likely throw more at the government. The night before the raid, an unidentified assailant attacked the office of the Central Elections Commission in Mindanao, which is responsible for the Nov. 26 autonomous region elections. A group of 100 armed MNLF fighters also gathered in a display of force on a hilltop outside Zamboanga city on nearby Mindanao Nov. 19. Even more troubling for Manila may be a report from the Philippine Bureau of Immigration that 50 Filipino Islamic militants are returning to the country from Afghanistan and the Middle East, allegedly after receiving training from terrorist groups, in some cases, for years. Rudy David, an intelligence officer for the immigration bureau, said the returning Filipinos were "suspected of having been part of terrorist groups, possibly the al Qaeda itself," according to the Straits Times. Misuari's split with the MNLF, the alleged links with the Abu Sayyaf and the reported return of al Qaeda-tied militants all add up to serious problems for Manila. Just days ago, the government was boasting of having a peace accord with the MNLF, a cease-fire with the MILF, and the Abu Sayyaf in the final stages of destruction. It must now contend with a resurgent militant faction of the MNLF, a revived and emboldened Abu Sayyaf and the distinct possibility of foreign-backed and directed terrorist and militant actions. This will do little for Arroyo's attempts to assure investors of the security and stability of the Philippines. Without a rapid economic stimulus, the government will be hard pressed to end the poverty-driven cycle of violence in the southern Philippines, which could spread as far as to Manila itself. The problems for Arroyo -- and the Philippines -- have just been compounded. ------------------------------ From: Ray Terry Date: Tue, 20 Nov 2001 6:31:19 PST Subject: eskrima: . ------------------------------ End of Inayan_Eskrima/FMA-Digest V8 #498 **************************************** To unsubscribe from the eskrima-digest send the command: unsubscribe eskrima-digest -or- unsubscribe eskrima-digest your.old@address in the BODY (top line, left justified) of a "plain text" e-mail addressed to majordomo@hpwsrt.cup.hp.com. Old digest issues are available via ftp://ftp.martialartsresource.com. Copyright 1994-2001: Ray Terry and the Martial Arts Resource Standard disclaimers apply. Remember 9-11!