How to deal with terrorism? Duterte says do it 'James Bond style'

MANILA, Philippines -- How do you prevent terrorism from escalating into a full blown civil war? Deal with it James Bond style.

 

This was President Rodrigo Duterte’s advice to soldiers as he urged them to learn new skills to be more responsive to the changing security environment.

 

“The most important thing here is you have to change paradigm. This is no longer a face-to-face war. So it’s a matter of detection.  Meaning to say, something is afoot ... and you have to detect to find out what it is,” he said during the 48th anniversary of the Air Force 250th Presidential Airlift Wing in Villamor Airbase on Tuesday.

 

“Parang James Bond na ang larong ito (The game now is like that of James Bond). Not so much about the display of might but your ‘might’ might be stolen from you. So change it a bit because we are dealing with terrorists and there will be explosions after explosions until we find peace,” he added.

 

James Bond is a fictional British Secret Service spy created by writer Ian Fleming. The character has appeared in several novels, movies and video games.

 

Duterte warned that terrorism in Mindanao could degenerate into a “full blown civil war” if left unchecked. He believes the key to a successful anti-terror campaign is knowing the enemy.

 

“I see in the horizon the dark clouds of terrorism,” the president said.

 

“You have to learn a little bit about your enemy… Study profiling. Start to profile the movements of the eyes, their native dialect. Those are the things you should know.”

 

According to the Philippine Air Force website, the 250th Presidential Airlift Wing is tasked with providing "safe, secure and effective air transportation for the president of the Republic of the Philippines, the immediate members of his family, visiting heads of state, state guests, and other VVIPs."

 

Duterte said his administration is working to crush the Abu Sayyaf while talking to Moro and communist rebels to address security threats in the country.

 

“As much as I would like to really be very strict about, you know, this thing about war but I am a president and my job is to seek the peace of the land,” Duterte said.

 

“We cannot be forever fighting Filipinos. We cannot be forever killing our own citizens. So they have agreed to talk, we can use the extra force now, we can focus them in Mindanao.”