In the US-aided battle against terrorism in the southern Philippines, victory may well turn on what the Americans call “chump change” — small amounts of money spent on winning the hearts and minds of poor farmers. A scheme dubbed “Growth with Equity in Mindanao” focuses on small-scale projects funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) aimed at winning over the four-million Muslim minority on Mindanao island. Nestled among reed thickets and irrigation ditches, Kibayao is adjacent to the town of Carmen, which is hosting a small contingent of US military advisers training Filipino troops how better to fight Al-Qaeda linked militants.Full Story
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