Jeez, Tom, talk about "spin." First you make a big deal about how significant the international "coalition" is. Then you dismiss the significance of various members of the "coalition" calling it quits.

You're right...you can't have it both ways.

As for me, the presence of 51 Phillipine troops was pure hype and symbolism from the beginning - a nothingburger to crow about. But their premature departure is very symbolic of how bad this is going for George Bush and company. Heck, we can't even convince one of our better allies to even stick around for a token contribution to the "cause."

Keep in mind that this isn't the first of our allies to cut their losses and run. And, as hard as we have tried, we still haven't got things stable enough to get the U.N. back in.

You're living in an absolute dreamworld, Tom. And the nightmare is only beginning.