A Very, Very Short History of Negotiating with Terrorists. posted by Richard Seymour

Tonight on the BBC, viewers were informed that the government was in an "impossible position" over "negotiating with terrorists". They were informed that governments do not, will not and cannot negotiate with terrorists by figures no less noble than Andrew Marr, Tim Collins MP, Tony Blair, Professor Paul Wilkinson and other experts.

Here, then, is my very, very short history of negotiating with terrorists :

Philippine truck driver Angelo de la Cruz has been freed from captivity in Iraq after Manila complied with a demand to withdraw troops from Iraq.
Militants took Mr de la Cruz captive on 7 July, and threatened to behead him unless their demand was met.

President Gloria Arroyo has risked her strong ties with Washington by withdrawing the tiny Philippine contingent a month early.

Her decision has drawn sharp criticism from the US and its allies.

Mr de la Cruz was handed to the Philippine embassy in Baghdad on Tuesday, after being dropped off outside the United Arab Emirates mission in the Iraqi capital.

"I am fine and relaxed. I am extremely happy and I can't say anything more than this," Mr de la Cruz told French news agency AFP.

Mr de la Cruz was held by a group which called itself Islamic Army, Khaled bin al-Waleed corps.

The sickening sanctimony of a government that has contributed to the slaughter of upward of 10,000 people in Iraq refusing to "negotiate with terrorists" as if it would offend their sense of their own purity can hardly be missed. Governments can and do "negotiate with terrorists" all the time. The choice not to is exactly that, and I suspect Mr Blair will be answerable for it in a way that noone will ever be able to hold al-Zarqawi accountable if he beheads another innocent human being.

On slightly worse form, however, was Jon Snow on Channel Four News who, speaking to Mr Bigley's younger brother, suggested in not so roundabout a way that he had really brought it on himself.

Jon Snow: In a way, um, he allowed himself to be where he was...

And finally, President Bush hit the neoconservative g-spot by lecturing the UN on how they could not find safety in "ignoring the struggles and oppression of others". The struggles and oppression of who, Mr President? Colombian peasants and trade unionists? Palestinians? Acehnese? Uzbeks? No - he means the American government.