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| Southeast Asia |
| Arroyo saves hostage, but at what cost? |
| 2004-07-17 |
| The Philippines leader's handling of a kidnapped worker has broken every rule in the book of dealing with blackmailers, writes Mark Baker in Manila. Late last week, soon after Iraqi kidnappers first broadcast their threats to behead Filipino truck driver Angelo de la Cruz, the Government of President Gloria Arroyo showed every appearance of hanging tough. "We will not be cowed and be blackmailed by acts of terrorism," vowed Vice-President Noli de Castro, the popular former TV anchor who helped secure Dr Arroyo a second term in close elections two months ago. The administration's public refusal to bow to demands for an immediate pull-out of the small Philippines military and police contingent in Iraq drew lavish praise for the President from US ambassador to Manila Francis Ricciardone: "I see a leader who has strength and compassion in a way that is truly inspirational here. It's a tough crisis, and leaders are called upon in a crisis to do hard things." |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #18 Uh, Fellow RBers, the comment above wasn't mine, in case you couldn't guess! looks like I may have to change my handle! Aside from ending Commuism, Fascism, tyranny, oppression and misery for 100 million people, war's never solved anything! |
| Posted by: Jen 2004-07-23 1:37:37 PM |
| #17 You greedy, greedy people. What if your dad/husband/son was the hostage? This war was foolish to begin with. All these war savages should just get out of Irag and let them rebuild their own country. This just goes to show that more WOMEN should be in positions of leadership. Then there would be no more wars. |
| Posted by: Jen 2004-07-23 1:27:09 PM |
| #16 firstly, i think the decision was bad in the sense that it undermines the coalition effort, and does convey to hostages takers that their methods work, BUT, i'm real interested to see if the global jihad movement responds in favor of filipinos, and whether or not they are targeted less. that won't help other foreign workers, but it may have provided some security for the 3m filipos in the middle east. in that sense gloria did her job. we watch! |
| Posted by: incredulous 2004-07-17 11:25:59 PM |
| #15 Unfortunately, she made a choice for the Phillipine people as well. I would say us, too, in a way. Any U.S. personnel assisting the Filipinos in tackling their little Abu Sayyaf "problem" should be immediately recalled. If they don't want to fight back, there's no reason why we need to help or train them to do so. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2004-07-17 9:10:44 PM |
| #14 B-a-r: Unfortunately, she made a choice for the Phillipine people as well. Would that it affected only her.... |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2004-07-17 8:10:33 PM |
| #13 Arroyo saves hostage, but at what cost? Well, if she wants to be penny wise and pound foolish, that's her choice... |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2004-07-17 5:07:27 PM |
#12 Arroyo saves hostage, but at what cost?At the cost of her country. I'll give the local jihadis a month, if that, to pull the same stunt. And I don't even want to think about what their demands will be. That was Arroyo's job, and she failed miserably. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2004-07-17 1:31:35 PM |
| #11 The Phillipines are already in problems with rebels kidnapping people and demanding ransom. People have sunk millions into ransom already. When you negotiate with terrorists, you have just made a quantum step in legitimizing them, and the price of that mistake gets higher and higher every time you capitulate to demands. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2004-07-17 1:06:15 PM |
| #10 Can't wait until the next hostage situation forces the Phillipines to pull out from their southern islands. What do you think the Phillipines own home-grown Islamic Fundamentalists will take from this example? |
| Posted by: Daniel King 2004-07-17 10:56:59 AM |
| #9 Crazyfool-you got it. Tom, the problem comes down to behavioral reinforcement. Now the cons of kidnapping are fewer, so the tactic will likely be repeated. Knowingly or not, intended or not, the Philippines have just shackled themselves to the wild dictates of jihadis for the foreseeable future. With this decision, net saved lives will could easily end up in the negative column. |
| Posted by: jules 2 2004-07-17 10:17:09 AM |
| #8 Raf, that is just the beginning -- Arroyo will pull them all. Tom, Arroyo put millions of Filipinos (both in the Middle East and the Southern Philippines) at risk to save the life of one. You know that the enemy will take more hostages. First to get the Arroyo to pull workers at US bases (which are much more important then the soldiers since they free up U.S. troops) then for money. And that doesn't count the A-S in the southern Philippines. Arroyo is the Philippine version of Carter and Kerry.... She should have promised to take care of the family if needed and made the tough decision -- that is her job as President. |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2004-07-17 9:57:11 AM |
| #7 Last I heard the Phillipines had a 51 member contingent in Iraq, and they're pulling out 11 of them. BIG DEAL. |
| Posted by: Rafael 2004-07-17 8:21:14 AM |
| #6 Hijackers? Ransom in the sense of demands issued in exchange for release of a hostage. No one said these kidnappers were after money. Other kidnappers in Iraq have. Hadn't you heard about that? The US allies are running away from their commitments, are they? Who told you to think that? I'm guessing Michael Moore and the journalists who lecture you like an idiot at the Guardian/Independent. Fact is, Tiny Tim, despite the efforts of the jihadis, most allies have shown they're made of sterner stuff than Spain and the Philippines. Take Bulgaria, Japan, Turkey, Italy. Besides, Tim, when did you lefties decide that might (in the most brazenly murderous sense) was right? When did lefties like you decide to back the kind of people who threaten to murder poor filipino truck drivers in order to advance their anti-democratic agendas? |
| Posted by: Anonymous5771 2004-07-17 8:13:32 AM |
| #5 #4, The hijackers were not asking for money. Their demand was the withdrawal of Filipino forces from Iraq. I have not heard a single incidence were Jihadis were asking for ransom. Actually, the incident highlights an interesting issue regarding the so-called US allies. What is the moral cause of these allies and why are they easily running away from their commitments. |
| Posted by: Tom.T 2004-07-17 7:17:58 AM |
| #4 There are something like 3 MILLION Filipinos in the Middle East...Any time a jihadi needs a little money he can grab a few and make his demands...and Arroyo is so weak, she'll comply. This weakness totally encourages more such BS. It'll happen, guaranteed. Thanks Aroyo! Thanks Spain! Very smart... |
| Posted by: RMcLeod 2004-07-17 6:14:05 AM |
| #3 You're a moron, Tom T. How the hell is it respectable to have your foreign policy dictated by small gangs of murderous foreign thugs? Arroyo's action is cowardly, and sends the message that hostage taking (and all the associated executions), works. At least, it works against some nations. Expect more Filipinos to be held to ransom elsewhere. |
| Posted by: Bulldog 2004-07-17 4:11:29 AM |
| #2 Arroyo sacrificed millions of dollars in US aid to save the life of one Filipino citizen. I think such a leader deserves to be respected. |
| Posted by: Tom.T 2004-07-17 3:11:07 AM |
| #1 Hey Dan! I say, one MILLION dollars. |
| Posted by: Lucky 2004-07-17 1:36:41 AM |