Manila, Madrid Defend Pullouts

Facing strong criticism, Spain and the Philippines on Sunday defended their decisions to pull troops out of Iraq, saying they had the right to do what was best for their countries.

Earlier, Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said the withdrawals had “encouraged” Islamic militants, who stepped up kidnappings and demands that more nations leave Iraq. His comments came after the Al Qaeda-linked Tawhid Islamic Group threatened to turn Australia into “pools of blood” unless it recalled its troops.

The Philippines withdrew its troops this month, a few weeks earlier than scheduled, after militants kidnapped and threatened to behead Philippine truck driver Angelo de la Cruz. After the withdrawal, De la Cruz was freed and returned home to a hero’s welcome.

Downer said that because the Philippines had met terrorists’ demands, more hostages had been taken in Iraq.

“Unfortunately, these actions have encouraged terrorists to continue these threats, so now we are subjected, as the Italians are and the Poles and the Bulgarians, ... to further threats,” Downer told Australia’s Nine Network television. “It’s very important we send a strong message that we will not be threatened by terrorist groups.”

The Philippine national security advisor, Norberto Gonzales, criticized Downer for linking the new threats to the troop withdrawal. “It’s very narrow-minded,” Gonzales said.

He said Australia should try to understand the predicament of the Philippines, which wanted to ensure the safety of its workers in the Middle East. About 4,000 Philippine contract workers remain in Iraq, and Gonzales said they could do more good than the 51-member peacekeeping force that was withdrawn.

“Our condition is different. We have over 1 million Filipinos scattered in the Middle East, and we need to safeguard them,” he said.

In Spain, the spokesman for the Socialist Workers Party, Trinidad Jimenez, said Sunday that the government would “never have accepted threats of a terrorist group.” He said Spain’s recent withdrawal of troops fulfilled a party campaign pledge based on long-standing opposition to the U.S.-led war in Iraq.