One comment on Juliette Ochieng's Baldilocks regarding the Philippines' genuflecting to terrorist demands:

The problem, of course, is that this is just the terrorists' first demand on the Phillipines. Now that they know the government will surrender so easily, more extortion will be on the way, ultimately leading to demands that the Phillipines quit fighting terrorism in their own territory and allow use of their country as a secure protected terrorist base.

What are you talking about, David? Terrorists are level brokers who will keep their word, right? Right?

One of the obstacles the world has yet to overcome is nationalist bigotry. It's one thing to protect your own citizens, another to recuse yourself from the well-being of an entire country to avoid death — something that obviously happens quite often on the streets of the Philippines. But that's "crime," and I suppose it's all a matter of why and how. One Filipino, we can see, is in the process of being made worth more to the islands than 25 million Iraqis. The vanity is unsurprising, and perhaps forgivable, but the consequences in today's world are staggering. What would Manila do if the threat were a catastrophic weapon aimed at many more than one Filipino? At the very least, we're offered another example of how palpable the terrorist threat is in such a world of pliant leaders and peoples.

Belmont Club has more on national timidity.