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But while the MILF is availing itself of al-Qaeda support is lamentable if true, its reclassification as a terrorist group on the same league as Osama bin Laden merely suits Washington’s insistent and sweeping war against terror. That policy has been unwisely promoted by Philippine officials, especially President Arroyo, who was commended during a ceremony at the White House by US President George W Bush, during the sixth-month anniversary of the events of Sept 11. For Arroyo, Bush’s praise is a truly flattering commendation – the subtext of which is that he is pleased with her government’s doing his bidding in the archipelago. And for Bush, his own war against terror is a truly worthy cause. But in the self-righteousness that Washington shares with the Arroyo government, Washington fails to see the consequences created by its noble war, which is being carried out in the usual imperialistic fashion. As a local newspaper noted, "The War on Terror… is increasingly being seen not as a just cause, but as something more sinister." Washington’s policy, as it is being applied in the Philippines, threatens to run over such genuine concerns as the causes behind Muslim secessionism, the MILF’s avowed objective. "The MILF could never be allied with the Abu Sayyaf because we have a different agenda," said the group’s spokesman, Eid Kabalu. "We are a legitimate revolutionary organization, not a bunch of money-hungry kidnappers allied with international terrorists." The MILF was formed in the early 1980s as a breakaway portion of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), led by Nur Misuari who is now being detained on rebellion charges. It distanced itself from the main group when the MNLF accepted the government’s autonomy offer. The Abu Sayyaf is more of a bandit gang than anything else, but the MILF, with an estimated 12,000 members, has deeper roots in Islamic radicalism. The strongest evidence linking the Abu Sayyaf to bin Laden involves a brother-in law of bin Laden, Mohammad Jamal Khalifa, who was active in the area until 1995, allegedly funneling money through Muslim charities to activists. Kabalu lamented the military’s "creating a scenario of renewed attacks at the expense of the MILF." Indeed, despite the frightening impression that the military, taking its cue from the Western press, has been making of the separatists, the MILF leadership has been curiously less than confrontational in its statement. Ghazali Jaafar, the MILF’s political affairs chief, said "it would be very important" that the government investigate the recent attacks, "because it would determine once and for all who started the encounters and terrorist acts attributed to the MILF." But arrested terrorist Al-Ghozi had strongly admitted that the MILF was responsible for the December 2000 bombings of bus terminals and gas stations in Metro Manila (and could possibly be involved in the recent bombings in Mindanao and Manila). These bombings, he added, were sponsored by the JI. Whether Al-Ghozi was being truthful or not, there is no denying one fact: Discounting those that have been traced to extortionists, most of the recent bombings in the Philippines follow a pattern that indicates that only one group is behind them – at least in planning and coordinating them for a political purpose, if not carrying them out themselves. The bombing of a passenger bus in Quezon City on Oct 18 resembled a series of attacks in Metro Manila on Dec 30, 2000 that were attributed to JI, which strives to set up a pan-Islamic state in Southeast Asia. The materials and devices used in making and detonating the bombs, the men who organized the attacks, and news reports citing intelligence sources all point to the same group: Jemaah Islamiah, who allegedly has connections with the local MILF group. This should serve as a reminder to the authorities, here and abroad, that al-Qaeda, JI and other international terrorist groups are very much alive amid rumors that bin Laden might be dead. And in the Philippines, sleepers of international terrorist groups are reported to have joined some local groups and blended into the community, awaiting instructions to commit terrorism by their superiors. But this does not give the Philippines and the US government absolute power to run after any local groups suspected of having links with international terrorists. Active players on the war against terrorism, like the US and the Philippines, should carefully and responsibly select their targets to avoid running over such genuine concerns as the real causes behind Muslim secessionism. Before declaring war against local secessionist groups, the US and the Philippines should first see to it that their guns are aimed at the real terrorists.