Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Don't Blame Me, I Voted For Kerry -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: American Spirit who wrote (36305)	7/19/2004 2:06:11 PM
From: ChinuSFO	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 81568

This is not BS. This is an editorial opinion in a leading Phillipine newspaper and now we know why Phillipines withdrew from the coalition in Iraq. Tuesday, July 20, 2004 Editorial: International standing <font size=3> It seems like a big portion of the critique of the Arroyo administration’s decision to withdraw Filipino troops from Iraq and free Angelo dela Cruz from his Iraqi captors is based on some assumptions that need to be clarified. Let us mention just two: one, the misrepresentation of a few countries as the world and, two, the wrong notion of the kind of war waged in Iraq. Indeed, the tendency of many people after officials of the United States, Australia and a few other countries raised a howl over the Philippine government’s move to pull out its troops from Iraq is to conclude that it has now become “us-against-the world.” Which is, of course, far from the truth. While admittedly what America says creates a whirlpool as far as western media is concerned, it does not follow that it reflects the attitude of the entire nations of the world. Thus, it is also important to consider what the majority of the other countries feel. Is the fear that by caving in to the demand of the Iraqi militants the Philippines will be isolated from the world justified? Or is it a ghost conjured by the less objective? Which brings us to a related point, the invasion of Iraq itself. Before insisting that the withdrawal is wrong, it would be good to consider what brought our troops to Iraq in the first place. It is because the Arroyo administration, rightly or wrongly, joined the US-led “coalition of the willing” that invaded Iraq. But consider that <font color=red>the said coalition itself did not constitute a majority of the world’s countries. The invasion of Iraq was opposed by such giants as France, Germany and Russia and failed to get the support of the United Nations. If there was a group isolated from the rest of the world, then, it was the said coalition—now even more so after the basis for the invasion was proven false. <font color=black>Thus, it is not entirely correct to say that by withdrawing its troops from Iraq, the Arroyo administration is sacrificing its international standing. It can also mean that, by doing so, it is righting a previously wrong foreign policy move. sunstar.com.ph