] The Philippines' hasty exit from Iraq to meet the demands
] of terrorists threatening to behead a Filipino contract
] worker held hostage received near universal condemnation
] in the world press this week.

I'm reminded of the quote by Winston Churchill:

"An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last."

[ I dunno... in this case, we're talking about removing 50 soldiers, about 1 month earlier than planned. I understand that it's dangerous to encourage hostage takers in this way, but if it's a victory for terrorism, it seems kind of a hollow one to me. The scope and scale seems so small in this case as to justify it, assuming it does save the lives of Filipinos overseas.

I'm not trying to belittle their support, but really, it's 50 guys. I don't think it's turning the tide of the insurgency.

Anyway, i see the arguments on both sides of the issue, but I can't really come down too hard on the Philipines for this. -k]

Feeding the Crocodile: Why Manila Caved to Terrorist Demands