"To subdue the enemy without fighting, that is supreme excellence." from the Art of War by Sun Tzu

This may already be a bit stale. But I guess I just had to let it out of my system after reading a similar opinion about the decision of Philippine government to pull out its 51-man team from Iraq in exchange for the release of Filipino hostage Angelo de la Cruz from his terrorist captors.

By now, we all know that Angelo de la Cruz is already released by the terrorists. He has returned home to his town in Pampanga. It is all water under the bridge now. The result has been successful for the Arroyo administration and for Angelo de la Cruz, but I still tend to agree with the opinion that we should not have given in to the terrorists' demands (although it would be unfortunate to the family of Angelo de la Cruz) and pulled back the Filipino troops. I cannot imagine how difficult it might be for Gloria Arroyo to decide. Because whatever decision she may have would have a negative consequence on her administration, and her image.

When does one favor sympathy over a national interest? How does one choose between the life of a single man against the security of a country? By giving in to the demands of terrorism, didn't we just "negotiate" with them? No-negotiation was a policy which this administration has for a long time stood for.

I wonder, how would other countries trust us when we have betrayed an agreement we have entered into?