ìKidnappings, Beheadings And Defining Whatís News,î by Jacques Steinberg, New York Times, 1 Aug, p. WK1.

ìLooking Out for the Many, in Saving the One: A Filipinoís ordeal in Iraq shows the risk of relying on migrants to fuel an economy,î by Seth Mydans, NYT, 1 Aug, p. A1.

The scary part about all the coverage on the beheadings and kidnappings it that it has a real magnifying effectóa serious CNN factor, especially for the smaller, more wavering coalition members. But frankly, the decision by the Philippines did more to fuel this than the media has.

But hereís the silver lining: you gotta believe the House of Saud is starting to pull its head out of its ass and realizing that if a Philippines can be scared out of Iraq, it can be scared out of Saudi Arabia too.

Think about that when you consider just how big this System Perturbation known as Operation Iraqi Freedom may end up being in the grand scheme of history.