I don't think the "Ann Coulter rule" is officially in effect for Michelle yet but here she is anyway!
Posted on 07/14/2004 7:15:12 AM PDT by antivenom
The Mollycoddling Milksops of Manila
by Michelle Malkin
Posted Jul 14, 2004
Add the flag of the Philippines to the International Hall of Appeasers. Sign this pitiful nation up for a lifetime membership to the Axis of Weasels. And remind me never again to brag about the proud fighting spirit of my ancestors.
I never thought I'd say this, but I'm deeply, mortifyingly ashamed of my parents' native land. The island nation has gone and pulled a Spain (and a France and a Germany). Philippine president Gloria Macagapal-Arroyo has crumbled like a fried lumpia wrapper under pressure from radical Muslim terrorists.
The Battling Bastards of Bataan have given way to the Mollycoddling Milksops of Manila. And ultimately, we -- not just Filipinos, but all Americans and our allies battling Islamofascism -- will pay a grisly price for this disgraceful capitulation.
Late last week, an Islamic terrorist group in Iraq kidnapped Filipino truck driver Angelo de la Cruz. He was abducted near Fallujah while shipping fuel for an American company from Saudi Arabia to Baghdad. The sword-wielding kidnappers, calling themselves the Khaled Ibn al-Walid Brigade, have threatened to execute de la Cruz unless the Philippines immediately withdraws its 51-member contingent of police officers and soldiers from the multinational force providing security in Iraq (the troops were scheduled to be sent home next month, anyway).
My prayers, of course, are with de la Cruz and his family. He is the father of eight children, an innocent man who was reportedly just trying to earn enough money for an operation to restore the eyesight of a son. It could have easily been a relative of mine in the hands of the heathens. No one can blame his family for their entreaties to President Arroyo to pull out all the stops to save him.
But Arroyo is not merely the protector of one man and one family. She is not only a parochial leader of one people. Arroyo proclaimed herself a front-line warrior in the battle against global terror. Last spring, she came to Washington, embraced President Bush, and heralded her tight relationship with the United States.
"(T)he Philippines is one of the first countries to join this war on terror," Arroyo said. "And the reason why we did it is that we in the Philippines know what it is to suffer from the hands of terrorism. We know the pain of terrorism. And we are with you in your leadership against terrorism, wherever it may be found."
We are with you. Remember those words.
Initially, the Philippines appeared to stand firm against de la Cruz's abductors. The nation followed the courageous lead of Japan, South Korea and Bulgaria, which have all resolutely opposed the terrorists despite the abduction and murder of their countrymen. "Philippines Defiant on Iraq," one headline read. "Philippines Rejects Deadline From Iraq Kidnappers," read another.
But facing pressure from a vocal minority of isolationists, anti-American academics and Catholic church leaders, Filipino government officials buckled within hours of their original decision. On Monday, Philippine deputy foreign minister Rafael Seguis announced on al-Jazeera television that "in response to your request" -- "request," as if the terrorists had extended an invitation to tea -- the Philippines "will withdraw its humanitarian forces as soon as possible."
"I hope the statement that I read will touch the heart of this group," Seguis pleaded further, as if he were addressing Oprah Winfrey's studio audience. He concluded pathetically: "We know that Islam is the religion of peace and mercy." Meanwhile, militant Islamic brigades of merciless cutthroats have menaced the southern Philippine islands, collaborated with murderous al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiah operatives, and will now see every overseas Filipino worker as an irresistible tool for geopolitical extortion.
Indeed, there have even been unconfirmed reports from the Philippines that its diplomats may have offered cash to the terrorists using al-Jazeera TV as an intermediary.
Some observers, including our own State Department, have given the Arroyo administration the benefit of the doubt. They believe that the wording of the nation's announcement to withdraw troops from Iraq "as soon as possible" is a deliberate ploy meant to confuse the captors and buy time. Nonsense. The unequivocal message of the Philippines to the terrorists has come across loud and clear: We will surrender. And so has the country's message to America:
We lied.
"No one can blame his family for their entreaties to President Arroyo to pull out all the stops to save him."
Wanna bet? I understand their grief and fear, but their pleas are only a microcosm of the general appeasement of the Phillipines this day.
Prayers to the family for their trials, though I do not agree with their attitude.
Pres. Arroyo can now take her place in the rogues gallery of incompetent Philippine rulers, including Marcos, Estrada, et. al., whose only legacy is the misery that they inflicted on their citizens.
The Philipines-and the rest of the Western world-will live to regret this decision.
I don't think the "Ann Coulter rule" is officially in effect for Michelle yet but here she is anyway!
The Phillipines are HOME to Abu Sayef (?sp) and I am sure they have serious "happy feet" and are happily making plans for some more blackmail.
Michelle speaks,of course,from a place of relative safety.
There are no Jemaah Islamiah or Abu Sayyef,or Moro Liberation Army bombers hanging around her house.
Michelle speaks,of course,from a place of relative safety.
There are no Jemaah Islamiah or Abu Sayyef,or Moro Liberation Army bombers hanging around her house.
I don't think the "Ann Coulter rule" is officially in effect for Michelle...
It most certainly is haywoodwebb, good work outta you!
Owl_Eagle
”Guns Before Butter.”
I can understand the dismay that Mrs. Malkin feels concerning what appears to be a reversal of support by the Phillipines for the War on Terror. But I read in her article that the military contingent provided by the Phillipines was only fifty soldiers! Why not fake out these mad Moslem murderers, put these troops on a plane, fly them somewhere for rest and recreation, wait until the truck driver is released, then fly them back to their duty stations in Iraq?
Anyway, why is their mere presence so important in Iraq? There are plenty of operations on-going in the Phillipines itself against these mad Moslem murderers. they can support the War on Terror at home!
The real problem here is that most of the countries who are part of the Iraqi coalition have so few troops engaged that their contributions are primarily symbolic anyway. If they contributed troops in meaningful numbers, the ongoing conflict with the recalcitrant jihadis could have been put down long ago by fanning out troops in sufficient numbers to contain the threat. Since this isn't happening, why not utilize creative manpower handling techniques to address the kidnappings and killings?
Besides, the Iraqis themselves need to take on more of this responsibility. Let them replace the Filipino contingent.
This behavior is nothing new.
Relative safety maybe, but then again, don't you think the US is facing a constant threat? She probably lives in NJ or NY, no? Sure, it's safer than Iraq, but then again, no one FORCED that guy to go work there, did they?
I appreciate Michelle's outrage and even agree with her to some extent. However, the Phillipines have their own Muslim terrorists that have been operating in the southern islands for many years and, I'm sure that is part of the Phillipines' President's concern. Besides, the Filipino army is not one of the best trained or equipped militaries out there, although every soldier is a big help.
So now we know where the term "manila folders" came from.
Eat, Michelle, EAT! You're gonna DIE!
Your point?
YUP...Mommar Khadaffi (<--yikes SP!!!) pays the ransoms...so he is a PIPELINE of monet to terrorism...
Michelle's point...you either "with us" or "against us"...looks as tho the Phillipines are "Kerry like"...trying to mollify both sides...can't be done...real leaders DO NOT COMPROMISE their beliefs...
Gloria Arroyo-who is basically US-friendly-BARELY got re-elected,and faces very powerful minority factions-many of them violently anti-US.To do any good at all-for herself,her country,and for us,she has to stay in power.
Whether 59 Filipinos stay or go is of no real consequence to the US;but pulling them out in an effort to save one man tells her people even 1 man is important.
Malkin SHOULD know this,but-every once in a while-she shoots from the hip.
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