The American Spectator

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"We are with you in your leadership against terrorism, wherever it may be found," Arroyo once claimed, but then made a lie of it by withdrawing troops. Presidential spokesman Ignacio Bunye tried to put the best face on this by saying that his nation still considers the U.S. "as our big brother in the security arena. Our long-standing and maturing relations with the United States will survive this hostage crisis."

Washington is not looking "to punish the Philippines in any way," said America's Charge d'Affaires, Joseph Mussomeli, in Manila. Fair enough. The U.S. shouldn't level sanctions or give Filipinos the French treatment, but the American military guardianship should end.

The issue is not that countries are either "with us or against us" in the fight against terrorism, as President George W. Bush once put it, but that sacrifice must cut both ways. The U.S. has sent thousands of troops to train Filipino forces fighting Islamic guerrillas. Several Americans have died in joint exercises. And U.S. taxpayers have contributed billions in aid to the Philippines over the years.

It is time to say, no more. Washington faces a world full of unfinished business. It must set priorities by cutting off onetime clients that are unimportant strategically and faithless under fire. America has more important things to do than subsidize and defend them.

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