July 22, 2004

Hostages have Pres. Arroyo and Spain to thank

By Christopher Orlet
The six new hostages in Iraq have the governments of the Philippines and Spain to thank for their current plight. Experts warned that giving in to terrorists' demands would only encourage more kidnappings, leading to more demands, and an ever—increasing spiral of abductions and murders. And for once the experts were right. Even the government ministers of the Philippines are not too stupid to make the obvious connection between capitulation to terrorists and more terrorism. Or perhaps Philippine history books tell a story different from Western texts, one in which British and French capitulation to Hitler at Munich did not lead to the German invasion of Czechoslovakia, Poland, France, Russia, etc., etc. Writing in the Philippine Daily Enquirer two days before the latest kidnapping, columnist Neal H. Cruz redefined Samuel Johnson's idea of heroism when he called Pres. Arroyo and the newly released Angelo de la Cruz heroes: "It must have been very lonely up there as the president...(Read Full Article)