Pacific commander counts on anti-terror alliance

By Walter Wright
Advertiser Staff Writer

Some terrorist havens in Asia and the Pacific are "disintegrating," terrorists' money sources are drying up, and forces such as Abu Sayyaf in the Philippines have been so damaged, they have a hard time feeding their men let alone helping them fight, America's top military commander in the Pacific said here last night.

But anyone fighting terrorism since Sept. 11, Adm. Thomas B. Fargo said, has to feel like the person defending the goal in soccer: It's not the hundred brilliant saves for which you will be remembered, but the one shot that got past you.

Fargo, who assumed duties as CINCPAC — commander in chief, Pacific —in May, said the old rules of deterrence and defense don't apply, "so we have to go after these terrorists."

The nature of the terrorist threat means the enemy needn't win but only hurt you, Fargo indicated.

For that reason, he explained, terrorism presents a challenge to the Asia-Pacific region, which the admiral said is without a doubt the cradle of the economic future of the 21st century.

The military responses range from standard defenses such as missiles and mines to building a new Navy, including the use of small high-speed vessels able to navigate near-shore waters of the Pacific.

But one of the best weapons against terrorism, Fargo told the biennial conference of the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies, is the increasing cooperation between allies in the region.

Reach Walter Wright at wwright@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8054.