Dutch commander criticises US military in Afghanistan

wnes · Jan 20, 2006

Ottomaton said:

I just wanted to explain this because I think people might not remember the Dutch connection here in the U.S.

Srebrenica was supposed to be a "safe zone" city outside the fighting and was defended by U.N. troops who were Dutch. Bosnian efugees rushed into Srebrenca thinking they'd be safe, but Radovan Karadžić sent in the Serbian Army under Ratko Mladić which set out to systematically kill every Bosnian male in Srebrenica. They ened up killing about 8,000 people.

The Dutch peacekeepers did nothing to stop the Serbs, and there are even some reasonable indications that the Dutch knew what was happening, or at least if they didn't should have as the Serbs weren't exactly secretive.

The reason that I belabor the point is that IMHO it seems somewhat ironic in a macabre way that a Dutch military officer is advocating a hands-off approach considering how well that worked out for them in Srebrenica.

He may well be entirely right about the U.S. here, but the obvious connection to policy issues in Srebrenica makes me cringe before I even think about the merit of the comments on their own.
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If anything, the UN and NATO should be held as much responsibility as the Dutch troops, who were only lightly armed at the time Srebrenica was suddenly under seige by the Bosnian Serbs in response to the NATO air strikes. Some 350 Dutch peacekeepers were held hostages by the Serbs. Essentially, the Dutch were left alone to defend their own and to protect the Bosnian refugees.

glynch · Jan 20, 2006

Bigtexx, instead of accusing me of trying to read your mind, please explain to us how your so called "comparative advantage" over our brave troops means you should stay here and they should go.

arno_ed · Jan 22, 2006

bnb said:

Politics in Holland is very interesting.

From what i can see...lot's of tension....lots of extemists (possibly too loaded a word)...and a stark contrast to the watered down left-is-right-is-left-is-right politicians having more in common with eachother than with the electorate that we see in many places.

Not sure it makes for good government....but it is entertaining.
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It is pretty entertaining. When Pim Fortyun (the plitician who got shot)arived in the politics it became interesting. The differences between the parties grew. After he arived and got killed, the dutch parties and a lot of the dutch people became less tolerant, and less social.

At this point the social parties are becomming more popular again(i'm very glad about that). The problem remains that since fortyun many dutch are less tolerant

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Dutch commander criticises US military in Afghanistan

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