I haven't been covering the story of kidnapped Filipino civilian Angelo dela Cruz heavily, but the more I see of it the more I'm just revolted by it. I understand the desire on the part of the Philippine government and people to have their countryman freed, but negotiating with terrorist in the media is unseemly in addition to being a very bad precedent.
MANILA, Philippines (AP) - Frantically trying to obtain the release of a captive Filipino truck driver with the clock ticking down, the Philippines said Tuesday it would withdraw its tiny peacekeeping force from Iraq as soon as it can.I wish them all success in getting dela Cruz freed, but once the started down the path of caving in to the terrorists demands, they're really left with no choice but to capitulate fully. Bullshitting around with Clintonesque word games shows all the moral backbone of, well, Bill Clinton.However, the statement, which followed all-night Cabinet consultations, was unclear as to whether Manila was advancing the pullout as demanded by the Iraqi militant kidnappers, or was sticking by its commitment to bring its 51-strong force home on Aug. 20 as planned.
The confusion may have been deliberate as President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo seeks to maintain her staunch support of the U.S.-led war on terrorism while avoiding a possible domestic backlash if Angelo dela Cruz, a 46-year-old father of eight, is beheaded.
"The Philippine government, consistent with its commitment, will withdraw its Philippine humanitarian contingent forces in Iraq as soon as preparations for their return to the Philippines are completed," Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Rafael Seguis said in a statement to a Filipino reporter in Baghdad.
I get the feeling this is going to blow up in their faces...
Update: Much more on this topic from Michele Malkin.
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War On Terror
Comments (6)
This is doubly bizarre to m... (Below threshold)1. Posted by Tanya | July 13, 2004 10:27 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
This is doubly bizarre to me, because it's not like radical islamic terrorists don't kidnap and kill people in the Philippines all the time...
1. Posted by Tanya | July 13, 2004 10:27 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on July 13, 2004 10:27
2. Posted by Mark | July 13, 2004 11:13 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Yeah, it will blow up in their faces, as their domestic terrorists will get wide-eyed (terrorists WE are helping fight, by the way). What enrages me is how so many more people (of all coalition countries) will now be under the threat of kidnapping because the terrorists have proven it can work.
2. Posted by Mark | July 13, 2004 11:13 AM |
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Posted on July 13, 2004 11:13
3. Posted by Slant Point | July 13, 2004 11:33 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Ah, they only have 51 "troops." They are really peacekeepers, hoping to bolster our coalition - probably in exchange for some aid - and they hoped they would be as active as a mall rent-a-cop.
Let them go.
I say we kick out every other country that is small and contributing little. We don't need this fragile coalition on the ground. We'll do the dirty work in Iraq. Our coalition partners can help from afar.
Pre-empt the terrorists by booting foreign rent-a-cops.
3. Posted by Slant Point | July 13, 2004 11:33 AM |
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Posted on July 13, 2004 11:33
4. Posted by corey | July 13, 2004 2:07 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Spain continues to screw up - first, they let the phililpines gain their independence, then they pull out of the war because a train blew up. And now, decendants of Spain are going to sacrifice more lives and more kidnappings to save a phlipino truck driver. Logic anyone?
4. Posted by corey | July 13, 2004 2:07 PM |
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Posted on July 13, 2004 14:07
5. Posted by Jane | July 14, 2004 12:06 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
The map of the "free and the determined to stay that way" world is shrinking.
5. Posted by Jane | July 14, 2004 12:06 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on July 14, 2004 00:06
6. Posted by McGehee | July 14, 2004 2:45 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
first, they let the phililpines gain their independence
Ow.
Spain didn't let the Philippines get their independence. They lost the Philippines in a war some 106 years ago. In fact, one of the policies of the Spanish-American War was that we weren't seeking to establish a colonial empire, and that nearly all of the former Spanish possessions we took would be granted independence as soon as it was feasible.
Hence my "ow" -- to the extent there is blame for Philippine independence, it is ours. And thanks to a policy that set the stage for American dealings up to and including the present.
6. Posted by McGehee | July 14, 2004 2:45 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on July 14, 2004 14:45