[TADSLOS]

Placing and publicly announcing a time limit on a military operation is automatic grounds for failure. This announcement indicates that the Phillipine government isn't serious about destroying Abu Sayef.

[Steel Wolf]

Your right. All it indicates is that they need to show results, and portray the situation in a positive light. They're taking a lot of heat for having to bring in foriegn troops to help. The deadline is the government's attempt to play off the role of the U.S. troops, by treating the ASG as a beauracratic issue that they can drop a dealine on, as if they are paperwork to be filed.

[Steel Wolf]

Your right. All it indicates is that they need to show results, and portray the situation in a positive light. They're taking a lot of heat for having to bring in foriegn troops to help. The deadline is the government's attempt to play off the role of the U.S. troops, by treating the ASG as a beauracratic issue that they can drop a dealine on, as if they are paperwork to be filed.

[Cacophonous]

I don't know. I like the idea; it's better than an open-ended campaign, with no clearly defined objectives, and no clearly defined end-point. Of course, no campaign is as effective when the plans and goals are laid out in the open for all (including the bad guys, to see).

To draw an obvious parallel, I don't see how constantly giving Saddam Hussein extensions to meet vague goals, while continually thumping our war chests, is any better. It's much worse.

We will come out looking better, perhaps, because we are so much more prepared (this said not knowing anything of the relatives threats of Abu Sayef and the Phillipine military).