: Philippines Withdrawing Troops 'as Soon as Possible'

[Wnghs2007]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,125451,00.html

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Pleading for the life of a truck driver held hostage in Iraq, Philippine Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs Rafael Seguis (search) said the country would withdraw its troops "as soon as possible."

Seguis' appeal to the group holding Angelo dela Cruz (search) was aired on Arab-language television network Al-Jazeera on Tuesday. But he did not elaborate on whether the Philippines would move up their scheduled Aug. 20 pullout from Iraq.

It is unclear if dela Cruz is still alive. The militant group, the Iraqi Islamic Army-Khaled bin Al-Waleed Corps (search), had initially said they would kill the hostage by Sunday if the Philippines did not agree to pull out its 51-member peacekeeping force one month earlier than planned. Earlier on Monday, the Philippines announced that the kidnappers had extended their deadline to 3 p.m. EDT Tuesday.

But in a videotape and statement broadcast by Al-Jazeera, the group said it was only extending the deadline to 3 p.m. EDT Monday.

In the videotape, dela Cruz, while pleading to be spared, also asked that his body be sent to the Philippines for burial should he be killed.

He appeared to wearing an orange garment similar to those worn by two other hostages who have been beheaded: American Nicholas Berg (search) and South Korean Kim Sun-il (search).

Cruz's sister, Lydia Ghazzawi of Pacifica, Calif., began to sob when she learned about the new deadline. She had thought her brother's captors had extended the deadline until Tuesday.

"We're still hoping," the 35-year-old Ghazzawi, one of dela Cruz's three sisters, told The Associated Press. "I don't know what to believe. I'm confused right now."

On Tuesday morning Iraq time, Seguis said on Al-Jazeera the pullout would come according to the government's commitments when asked what "as soon as possible" meant.

Seguis also made a heartfelt plea to the kidnappers.

On behalf of the Philippines and dela Cruz's family, "I appeal to your compassion and mercy for his release," he said from Baghdad.

Seguis, who was in Baghdad working to get dela Cruz freed, said that Islam was the religion of peace and compassion.

"I appeal to you and to your kind hearts as Muslims to please release Angelo dela Cruz so that he can return to his family and children," he said.

Dela Cruz' wife and eight children live in the Philippines in a poor rural town in the province of Pampanga, north of Manila. Ghazzawi said the hostage's wife and a brother were flying from the Philippines to Amman, Jordan, with an official from the Philippines government to plead for his life.

"We hope the negotiations succeed," said Khaled Ghazzawi, Lydia's husband.

[Aslkahuna]

That is unfortunate and will mean problems for the Philippines and the rest of us. Although I do like living in the Philippines and could do so quite nicely on my annuity, I do not intend to do so because I consider it not to be safe over there. The Philippine Government has always criticized the Travel Advisories advising citizens of other countries not to go there but now they can do so no longer. Of course, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has shown herself to be as shifty a politician as there is in the past and could do so in the future.

Steve

[GalvestonDuck]

I don't think they'll pull their troops out fast enough to satisfy the monsters and they'll probably kill the hostage anyway.

[streetsoldier]

The Phillippines caving in does not bode well for the island-nation; they should have remembered that they have a strong Islamic terror movement on their doorstep, which will only embolden these killers further.


DUMB MOVE.

[Brent]

Stupid stupid move.

All it will do is incite more violence and kidnappings against the coalition.

[rainstorm]

by rolling over they have encouraged the terrorists to butcher more people