Known for their fighting prowess, the Philippines have caved in to terrorist demands and withdrawn their troops from Iraq. The Philippines had planned to remove their troops by August 20, but said it would withdraw them early because of the kidnapping.

The old question of "Who's in charge?" has to be asked in this case when the Philippine Department of National Defense is being directed my terrorists.

Withdrawing troops that have completed their mission or that will be replaced by fresh troops is an acceptable proposal. However, instability remains in Iraq and troops from many nations are needed to maintain peace and ensure Iraq's progress towards democracy.

What we have here is a gaggle of "dead-enders" (Donald Rumsfeld) waving pop-guns around and slicing the necks of flight attendants with box cutters that are now making decisions for the Philippine government!

Similar events took place prior to presidential elections in Spain when a terrorist railway bombing broke the spines of the people, resulting in them voting for the Socialist Party favoring withdrawing troops from Iraq.