Philippines Cave in to Terrorists

The Philippine government brought its troops home from Iraq a month early in a rather pathetic show of weakness after one of its nationals was kidnapped and threatened with beheading. The 51 member contingent of Philippine troops serving with the Bush coalition are now safely home in the Pacific archipelago. The kidnapped truck-driver may or may not be alive, well and free. While the White House complains of weakness and yielding to the enemy, the Philippines government made its first mistake in joining the coalition in such pitiful numbers.

The American-led coalition currently no-longer occupying Iraq is, on paper, broader than the alliance that kicked the Iraqi troops out of Kuwait back in the 1990s. In reality, it is an American force of 135,000 backed up by the British, Poles, some Australians and a handful of other countries that are marginally serious about what they are doing. And then there are a bunch of nations, like the Philippines, that want the Americans to be nice to them and so have sent a busload of troops to make it look good.

When Angelo de la Cruz, a 46 year-old father of 8, was kidnapped, the Philippine government reaped all of the pain for none of the gain with its policy of token participation. The country had very little invested, and so it had very little reason to stick around. Some domestic pressure, a few videos of the victim, and the government lost all credibility with Washington. It will be a cold day in hell when the current government of the Philippines gets any consideration from the Bush White House.

This is unfortunate for both nations. Currently, the Philippine government is fighting a serious insurgency against Fascislam on some of its islands. The US is providing much more than moral support there. The conflict is a matter of life and death for the Philippine government, whereas the Iraq conflict was, at best, a side show for the decision-makers in Manila.

The lesson is a simple one, use enough troops to make it worthwhile, or don't use any at all. If one wishes to put a name to it, it might be called the "Powell Doctrine." Unfortunately, he isn't involved in US foreign policy much these days, much to the detriment of America's allies.


© Copyright 2004 by The Kensington Review, J. Myhre, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent.


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