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Powell Puts a U.S. Hand Back in Southeast Asia
Monday, August 5, 2002
(12:00 AM)
By George Gedda
Associated Press Writer

All of the six countries of the region Powell visited -- Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, the Philippines and Indonesia -- are worried about terrorism. Powell assured leaders last week that U.S. militarization of the anti-terrorism struggle in Southeast Asia is not in the cards.

MANILA, Philippines -- AP
With a few strokes of a pen, Secretary of State Colin Powell raised the U.S. profile in Southeast Asia in a further sign of the Bush administration's international activism since Sept. 11.

Powell and a 10-nation group of Southeast Asian countries made clear in a joint declaration the importance of cooperating "to prevent, disrupt and combat international terrorism" by sharing information and intelligence and other steps.

The ceremony took place in Brunei, one of six countries in the region that Powell visited last week. He also visited India and Pakistan.

The struggle against Muslim extremism was a recurring theme during the trip, perhaps the most extensive tour of the region by a secretary of state.

The issue has transformed U.S. foreign policy. American anti-terrorism fingerprints can be seen in Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Philippines. They are visible in Latin America, too.
(More: KENS 5 & The San Antonio Express-News Source)
2002 © The Associated Press.

Dan