Why Manila caved to terrorist demands
But damaged US-Philippine relations are likely to survive Iraq pullout.
The Philippines' hasty exit from Iraq to meet the demands of terrorists threatening to behead a Filipino contract worker held hostage received near universal condemnation in the world press this week.Typical was the criticism leveled at the Arroyo government in the lead editorial in
Newsday's Friday edition: "An
ill-advised move that could have dire consequences for citizens of other nations participating in the UN multinational force." Besides the prospect of feeding future terrorist actions and demands, what editorialists found most perplexing about Philippines President Gloria Arroyo's policy of withdrawal was that it flies in the face of the Philippines' own best interests, given that country's first-hand experience in a decades-long guerrilla war with Muslim terrorists. For the Singapore
Straits Times, "the decision is especially
foolish and counter-productive, given the reality that Manila is fighting terrorist insurgents in its own backyard, in its Muslim-majority southern provinces." A
Wall Street Journal editorial admonished, "Now that the Phillippines is knows as an appeaser, it might as well be open season on Filipinos working overseas." So, in light of such criticism, two obvious questions surface: What possible reason can the Arroyo government give for its actions? How will this affect relations with the United States, the principle supporter in the Philippines' conflict with its own Muslim terrorists?
The answer as to why Arroyo capitulated to the terrorists demands to pull the 51 police and military troops out of Iraq, seems clear-cut: Domestic political considerations, not international standing, forced her hand.
"The impending Philippine retreat from Iraq is a
tribute to the humble overseas Filipino worker," reports the
Straits Times.
Political analyst Gladstone Cuarteros said Mrs Arroyo's decision was 'a recognition of the political clout of overseas workers. There would have been a major political backlash against her government because so many families depend on a relative working abroad.' About 7.5 million Filipinos currently work abroad, most of them as construction workers, domestic helpers and seamen. Their remittances, which amounted to US$7.6 billion (S$12.9 billion) last year, or 7.5 per cent of the Philippines' gross domestic product, were the main drivers of the economy. 'Without remittances from these workers, the economy would have been in a precarious situation,' said Mr Jesus Felipe, an Asian Development Bank economist. Faced with a domestic political crisis, "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," reports the
New York Times. The hostage crisis had the potential to "alienate the millions of overseas Filipino workers whose dollar remittances had been propping up the economy for decades but who contended that the government had not done enough to protect them," the
Times quoted Maita Santiago, secretary-general of Migrante, a group of Filipino migrant workers. Santiago continued:
[Arroyo] seems to think that it would be far easier to explain to the US her action on the hostage situation than to appease an angry public in case Angelo dela Cruz [the hostage] dies. Teodoro Casi���o, a congressman who is also a leader of the country's largest leftist group, the New Patriotic Alliance, said. "If Mr. dela Cruz is released, she will definitely make it up to the US" reports the
Times. But just how easy will it to be repair the damage done to Philippine-US relations? The
Philippine Star reported Friday that
US Ambassador Francis Ricciardone said that the United States and the Philippines will remain allies but urged Filipino officials "not to confuse your enemies with your friends" in their efforts to free Filipino truck driver Angelo de la Cruz from his Iraqi captors. Ricciardone made it clear that the United States will remain an ally and a friend that will always be around to help the Philippine government, said the Star. "We are allies,'' he told reporters. "We are here for you." Not so easy, says Edgardo E. Dagdag, a national security expert at the Asian Center of the University of the Philippines. The pullout "will raise a lot of questions as to how dependable the Philippines is as an ally in the fight against terrorism," he is quoted as saying by the
New York Times. The Philippines need 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," says Dagdag. US Secretary of State Colin Powell,
in a speech at the US Institute of Peace on Thursday, reports
Agence France-Presse:
... praised by name South Korea and Bulgaria - both of which have troops in Iraq - for 'not blinking and not faltering even though they are being tested mightily by kidnappings and by beheadings.' "In these difficult times we have to remain steadfast," said Powell, both highlighting Washington's displeasure with the Philippine withdrawal, while leaving open its commitment to defeating terrorism, everywhere in the world, including the Philippines, reports AFP.
Also...
•
Mollycoddling Milksops of Manila pulled a France (
Houston Chronicle)
•
Of Terrorists and Executions (
Mina News)
•
Philippine pullout from Iraq galls US (
Toronto Globe and Mail)
•
Philippines starts withdrawing troops from Iraq amid US anger (
Channel News Asia)
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Jim Bencivenga
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