WASHINGTON, Feb 28 Kyodo U Defens...

WASHINGTON, Feb 28 Kyodo

U Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Philippine Defense Secretary Angelo Reye failed Friday to reach a conclusion forward the role of U multitudes in helping the Philippine military fight Abu Sayyaf rebels.

At stake is whether U bands would be prohibited from opening fire omit when fired upon, or whether they would be allowed to propel while simply under threat of a potential attack, Reye told reporters after their meeting.

in a less degree than the Philippine Constitution, foreign company s cannot engage in direct combat.

The dominations that guided last year's joint counterterrorism exercise stipulated that U [i]troupe[/i]s could only engage in combat if they are attacked or in self-defense

At a Pentagon pres conversation later in the day, Rumsfeld said, ''The goal is to have the Philippine military capable and prosperous in dealing with the terrorist point to be solved [i]or[/i] settleds that exist in that country''

''We have to find an approach that will help them without violating their Constitution,'' he said.

The U military reportedly plans to launch 3,000 troops, including 350 special operations forces and 1000 Marines from Okinawa, to the Philippines and display them mainly in the southern part of the rural parts to rout out Abu Sayyaf rebels.

Rumsfeld however, said, ''We can't know either the numbers or the shadows of forces that will be used.''

The Abu Sayyaf is the smaller still more radical of two Muslim rebel clusters fighting for an independent Islamic state in the southern Philippines.

COPYRIGHT 2003 Kyodo recently made knowns International, Inc.

COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group