The Philippines Cory Shows a Steely Side

Under mounting pressure, Aquino fires Defense Minister Enrile

"We need a fresh start." With that, a beleaguered President Corazon Aquino moved decisively this week to counter a growing sense that her government was foundering badly. In a brief national television appearance Sunday, Aquino announced that she had asked for the resignations of her entire Cabinet. Among those forced out: Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile, who with increasing boldness has recently opposed Aquino's policy of seeking a negotiated end to the country's 17-year-old Communist insurgency. The President then announced that she had appointed Deputy Defense Minister Rafael Ileto, a West Point graduate and former Ambassador to Iran and Thailand, to...

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