Filipinos Take The Spanish Approach

Islamofascist terrorists abducted another foreigner in Iraq today, a Filipino civilian working for a Saudi company. In an action certain to encourage the kidnapping of more foreigners, the Filipinos have run up the white flag, at least for the moment:

Armed Iraq insurgents threatened to kill a Filipino hostage if his country does not withdraw from Iraq, according to a video that aired Wednesday. …
Three armed and masked men stood behind the seated hostage, threatening to kill him if the Philippines doesn’t pull out within three days. A banner on the wall behind them identified the captors as a previously unknown group, the Iraqi Islamic Army-Khaled bin al-Waleed Corps.
Thursday, the Philippines government suspended further deployment of Filipinos to Iraq. Philippines officials did not provide details but said the Cabinet would meet later in the day to discuss the situation.

I understand the need to review policy as situations develop, but what Manila has done is to reward the terrorists and guaranteed more kidnappings of its citizens. Even if the Filipinos restart their deployment, its lack of consistency has signalled the Islamofascists that they can influence Manila’s policy, a lesson that certainly will not be lost on the native Islamofascist Abu Sayyaf insurgency in the Phillipines. Just as with the Spaniards, the Filipinos have given terrorists a public victory and made the struggle against these lunatics harder on the rest of us.