WASHINGTON, July 20 (AFP) - The United States said Tuesday it was pleased with the release of a Filipino hostage from captors in Iraq but maintained that Manila's decision to give in to the kidnappers' demands was wrong.
"We're always glad to see somebody who has been in captivity get released," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher told reporters as he commented on the release of Filipino truck driver Angelo de la Cruz on Tuesday just after all Philippine soldiers were pulled back from Iraq.
"It's good to see that he's safe," Boucher said. "Our policy on how this came about has certainly not changed."
Manila's decision to bow to the militants' pressure to pull out its 51-strong military contingent drew sharp rebukes from Baghdad and Washington who feared it would only further fuel a hostage crisis that has engulfed Iraq since April.
The Philippine government has ignored the criticism, saying its actions were consistent with its national interest.
Secretary of State Colin Powell had said that giving in to kidnappers only encouraged them, and 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.
"This kind of action cannot be allowed to succeed anywhere in the 21st century, above all not Iraq," Powell had said.
"In these difficult times we have to remain steadfast."