Filipino Hostage Begs for Troop Withdrawl - Dela Cruz was alone on the video Saturday wearing a bright orange jumpsuit like that worn by American hostage Nicholas Berg and South Korean hostage Kim Sun-il when they were beheaded by Iraqi militants.
Behind him was a black banner that read: "There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his only prophet," and identified the group that captured him as "The Islamic Army of Iraq - Khalid bin al-Waleed Brigade."
AP - The group's namesake, Khaled bin al-Waleed, is one of the commanders of the army of Islam's Prophet Muhammad. Muhammad gave bin al-Waleed the title "Sword of Islam."
Broadcast: 29/07/2003: Former CIA agent warns of escalating warfare in Iraq
TONY JONES: Let me take you back a few steps, because I know you worked secretly for many years to bring about the downfall of the regime of Saddam Hussein.
Why weren't you happy then, when Washington decided to go ahead and commit to actually doing this?
ROBERT BAER: Well, because my opinion had always been it's better to let the Iraqis do it so it doesn't look like imperialism.
That's what it looks like to a lot of Iraqis now.
If we found a General who could replace Saddam Hussein -- someone we could live with that'd adhere to some rule of law, I think we'd be a lot better off today.
TONY JONES: Wouldn't that pose the same sort of dangers, though?
For example, if Ahmed Chalabi had been chosen, there'd be plenty of questions over whether he was the right man to be leading the country and, sooner or later, people would be asking, possibly, the same questions about him as they are asking about other Iraqi leaders?
ROBERT BAER: Chalabi was never a candidate to head Iraq.
He never had any legitimacy.
He still doesn't have any legitimacy.
He's a fine person, but he has no following in Iraq.
I'm talking about a Sunni Arab Muslim with following in the military, the police, who wouldn't be exactly clean, but it would be a lot easier transition than we're seeing today.
And somebody with some popularity.
TONY JONES: Wouldn't that pose serious moral problems, though?
Anyone who worked at a senior level in the Iraqi military was bound to have had, you've said, not clean hands -- I would say, possibly, this could be someone who was a war criminal?
ROBERT BAER: That's a possibility.
It's an enormous compromise, but if you look, the Americans will not stand for losing five or six people a day.
100 a week, they will withdraw and Iraq will become chaotic as this Government has admitted.
You know, the United States is in a bind.
Things are not going well there.
The deaths of Uday and Qusay were supposed to fix this.
I don't think it will.
I think the death of Saddam will not fix this.
Because the fact is that we have disenfranchised the Sunni Arab community and they're very unhappy and they're going to fight.