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NYT: Philippines Viewed as Being Forced to Yield on Hostage
NYT - I think Michelle Malkin would disagree with Conde...For login: BugMeNot By CARLOS H. CONDE - July 16, 2004 MANILA, July 15 - President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo had no choice but to accede to the demands of Iraqi insurgents who abducted a Philippine truck driver last week and threatened to kill him unless the country withdrew its troops by July 20, analysts and critics said Thursday. The risk of disappointing Washington, her most important ally, was easily outweighed by the potential political retaliation that could have imperiled Mrs. Arroyo's political and economic agenda for the next six years, they said. The hostage, Angelo dela Cruz, 46, a father of eight, appeared Thursday night on Al Jazeera, the satellite network, looking and sounding upbeat. Al Jazeera quoted him as saying that he would return home soon, although the militants supposedly told the network that Mr. dela Cruz would not be released until the last Filipino soldier was out. Mr. dela Cruz thanked the Philippine government for agreeing to the withdrawal, which started Wednesday with the departure of 43 of the 51 Filipino police officers and soldiers in Iraq. But Mrs. Arroyo's decision "was very serious and damaging" to Manila's relationship with Washington, a United States diplomat stationed here said. He did not elaborate, except to add that Washington had not expected such a move from Mrs. Arroyo, who is widely considered its strongest supporter in Southeast Asia and whose country has received by far the most military aid of any country in the region. The United States ambassador to Manila, Francis Ricciardone, said Wednesday that America continued to support the Philippines. "We are allies,'' he told reporters. "We are here for you." But Edgardo E. Dagdag, a national security expert at the Asian Center of the University of the Philippines, said the pullout "will raise a lot of questions as to how dependable the Philippines is as an ally in the fight against terrorism." The Philippines, he said, needs the United States in its own fight against terrorism. "So if we are vacillating now, I doubt if we can get America's full support," Mr. Dagdag said. Posted by: .com 2004-07-16 |
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