Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Filipino Soldiers Defied UN Order to Surrender to ISIS
Frontpage Mag ^ | 09/02/2014 | Daniel Greenfield

Posted on 09/02/2014 7:11:57 AM PDT by SeekAndFind


Good for them. Surrendering to people who practice beheading religiously is ill advised.

This whole mess is yet another of the innumerable reminders that international forces placed around Israel to absolutely nothing and surrender or run away at the first sign of trouble. That’s why the touted EU initiative to put international forces between Israel and Hamas is a stupid and destructive venture.

The Philippine military said Monday that a UN peacekeeping commander in the Golan Heights should be investigated for allegedly asking Filipino troops to surrender to Syrian rebels who had attacked and surrounded their camp

Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang said he advised the 40 Filipino peacekeepers not to lay down their arms, and they defied the UN peacekeeping commander’s order. Instead, they staged a daring escape from the Golan camp over the weekend, ending a tense, dayslong standoff.

The disagreement is another blow to a UN peacekeeping mission that has been threatened by an escalation of violence in a buffer zone it has been guarding between Israel and Syria. A number of countries have withdrawn their troops from the peacekeeping force due to rising rebel attacks.

Forty-five Fijian peacekeepers who surrendered their firearms to the rebels last week are still being held by the al-Qaida-linked insurgents.

The commander of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force, or UNDOF, which supervises the peacekeeping mission in Golan, was overseeing talks with the Syrian rebels to secure the freedom of the Fijians. However, Catapang said he would not agree to any resolution of the hostage crisis that would put Filipino troops in grave danger.

When the besieged Filipino troops sought his advice after they were ordered to lay down their arms as part of an arrangement with the rebels to secure the Fijians’ release, Catapang said he asked them to defy the order.

“I told them not to follow the order because that is a violation of our regulation, that we do not surrender our firearms, and, at the same time, there is no assurance that you will be safe after you give your firearms,” Catapang said.

UNDOF did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

He’s quite right that negotiating with terrorists doesn’t work and terrorists should not be trusted. This is why Israel should not be expected to surrender in the hopes that the terrorists will keep up their end of the deal.

They haven’t and they don’t.



TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events; Syria; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: filipinos; filipinotroops; isis; surrendertoisis; un
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-34 last
To: SeekAndFind

I believe it was Emilaino Zapata who said something like “I rather die on my feet than live upon my knees.”


21 posted on 09/02/2014 7:52:01 AM PDT by GOJPN
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind

That guy looks pissed and rightly so.


22 posted on 09/02/2014 7:52:15 AM PDT by tbpiper
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Opinionated Blowhard

One of the hardest things I’ve ever done is telling my son not to let them take him alive if the base is over run. This was before he left for Afghanistan. Hard thing for a mother to do.


23 posted on 09/02/2014 7:57:59 AM PDT by Himyar (Sessions: the only real man in D.C.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind

So who was the Muslim-supporting UN “Commander” who ordered them to lay down their arms? Why is it we don’t have this idiot’s name??? It’s amazing how the left works these things totally in reverse against their enemies. If this was a doctor refusing an abortion, that doctor’s name would be in the news 24/7 for a week, and they’d mobilize their mob goons to surround that doctor’s house.


24 posted on 09/02/2014 7:58:59 AM PDT by antonico
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind

Still more utterly self-destructive policy from the idiots at the UN.


25 posted on 09/02/2014 8:04:35 AM PDT by Jack Hammer
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Yorlik803

What are the odds the Fijians will be murdered by ISIS ?


26 posted on 09/02/2014 8:07:36 AM PDT by hoosierham (Freedom isn't free)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: Straight Vermonter

RE: Gen. Catapang is a hero.

As someone who spent time in the Philippines, I find the name of the general to be quite fitting for his character.

The word “tapang” in Ca-tapang, means BRAVE in Tagalog.


27 posted on 09/02/2014 8:18:00 AM PDT by SeekAndFind (If at first you don't succeed, put it out for beta test.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind

Well we know at least 1 group of men who have not had their balls removed yet. Hoo-ah!


28 posted on 09/02/2014 8:18:40 AM PDT by vpintheak (I will not comply!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: reformedliberal

Every blue helmet I see would catch a round.


29 posted on 09/02/2014 8:19:42 AM PDT by Resolute Conservative
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind

Unless you want to be Thursday nights “entertainment” and have your head sawed off, surrender is not a good option.


30 posted on 09/02/2014 8:28:27 AM PDT by crusadersoldier
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind

Surrendering to the likes of ISIS would only mean a terrible death. Thus, one might as well fight to the bitter end, even if it means fighting with one’s bare hands.


31 posted on 09/02/2014 8:49:00 AM PDT by spetznaz (Nuclear-tipped Ballistic Missiles: The Ultimate Phallic Symbol)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind
I see the surrender request as something more sinister coming out of the UN.

IS already has Fijian hostages captured in the Golan Heights buffer zone according to the story.

Well, the more hostages they have, the much easier it will be to retake the Golan Heights from Israel. The world would shriek with antisemitism if the Israelis defended themselves and in the process killed UN hostages.

Better to just have the Golan Heights returned to Syria (IS), wouldn't you think? The UN (US Left, Marxists, communists, etc and enough redundancy) can't get Israel to return the Golan Heights any other way, so why not use this sinister “tactic”?

32 posted on 09/02/2014 10:35:49 AM PDT by Pox (Good Night. I expect more respect tomorrow.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SeekAndFind

Makes one wonder why the UN issues weapons to its “peacekeepers.”


33 posted on 09/02/2014 10:45:05 AM PDT by DPMD
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: DPMD
Makes one wonder why the UN issues weapons to its “peacekeepers.”

The UN does no such thing. Member countries bring their own equipment, including weapons. It's a rent a cop operation and many third world countries fund their military through these UN missions.

34 posted on 09/02/2014 10:47:45 AM PDT by centurion316
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 33 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-34 last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson