USNS Mercy to move on after attack
Following up on my last post, USNS Mercy has halted its mission to the Southern Philippines after one of its helicopters was attacked.
An interesting aspect of all of this is that local rebel groups have condemned the attack. While one may doubt their sincerity of their claimed intentions to investigate the attack, they need to support SysAdmin missions like these, lest they seem opposed to the local population receiving free aid.
A great illustration of the strategic leverage created by SysAdmin assets like the USNS Mercy.No groups or individuals claimed responsibility for the attack, but several rebel groups, such as the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and New People’s Army, are operating in Mindanao.
The MILF on Tuesday condemned the attack and said it would investigate the incident. “We condemn the attack. The helicopter is on a humanitarian mission benefiting thousands of Muslims, including MILF patients and we will help authorities determine who is behind the attack on the helicopter,” Eid Kabalu, a rebel spokesman, told The Manila Times.
