Hostage free after pullout of troops :: Namibia Internet Gateway cc ::

Articles: Hostage free after pullout of troops

Posted by admin on Wednesday, July 21, 2004 - 12:16 AM

The release of a Filipino truck driver yesterday after his government gave in to his kidnappers' demands to withdraw troops is likely to embolden insurgents to take more hostages, analysts say.
Militants immediately took aim at Japan, threatening in a website message to send "lines of cars laden with explosives" to kill Japanese troops here. The threats have heightened concerns that other members of the U.S.-led coalition might think twice about sending soldiers to the country or keeping them there. "The Filipino withdrawal tells the insurgents that they can continue to chip away at this coalition and make it a coalition of two (Britain and the United States)," said Richard Shultz, a professor of security studies at Tufts University in Medford, Mass. Filipino hostage Angelo dela Cruz was dropped in front of the United Arab Emirates Embassy in Baghdad, a day after his government withdrew the last of 51 troops stationed here. Dela Cruz's family and much of the Philippines cheered his release. His wife, Arsenia, burst into tears in Jordan where she had been awaiting word of him. "Angelo was spared and we rejoice," Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said during a televised address. In the Philippines Embassy in Baghdad, dela Cruz enjoyed beer with friends around a table covered with salad, rice and traditional Iraqi chicken. Dela Cruz said his captors treated him well and he thanked Arroyo for pulling out the troops. His ordeal captivated the Philippines since he was shown on video July 7 surrounded by masked gunmen who had kidnapped him near the city of Fallujah. With more than seven million Filipinos working overseas, 1.4 million of them in the Middle East, many in the Philippines felt a connection to dela Cruz. That connection put intense pressure on Arroyo to secure his freedom. The United States and Iraq have criticized the pullout, saying it would endanger others. "All of us know that if you appease terrorism, you will sooner or later fall victim to it or be taken over by it," said Gen. John Abizaid, the top U.S. military commander in the Middle East.

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