The Philippines will withdraw its peacekeeping contingent from Iraq on schedule next month, the government said Saturday, the day militants vowed to kill a Filipino hostage if the troops were not sent home. As the government made its announcement, the Arab television station Al-Jazeera showed a video of the hostage appealing to Manila to give in to the insurgents and withdraw its 51-member force. In a tape Wednesday, the militants threatened to behead the hostage if the government did not comply within three days. The government decision appeared to be deliberately ambiguous, representing the fine line Manila is walking to obtain hostage Angelo dela Cruz’s release while remaining one of Washington’s closest supporters of the global war on terrorism. Full Story
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