IRAQ

The Philippines have announced that they will be pulling their forces out of Iraq “as soon as possible” in response to the kidnapping of one of their nationals. At present there are 51 Filipinos in Iraq, all deployed in non-combat roles.

It is a major blow to the US-led coalition in Iraq, as it means from now on soldiers will have to iron their own shirts and clean their own tents.

The U.S. is rumoured to have approached Indonesia to see if they would able to send part of their elite S.A.S. (Special Amah Service) troops to replace the departing Filipinos.