Gay Dutch Soldiers Responsible For Massacre

[Saint Therese]

[b]Gay Dutch soldiers responsible for Srebrenica massacre says US general [/b]

[b]A former American general blamed "open homosexuality" in the Dutch army for the failure to prevent the Srebrenica massacre in 1995. [/b]
by Our Foreign Staff
Published: 9:31AM GMT 19 Mar 2010


Gen Sheehan said that after the end of the Cold War, European militaries changed and concluded "there was no longer a need for an active combat capability."

He said this process included "open homosexuality" which resulted in "a focus on peacekeeping operations because they did not believe the Germans were going to attack again or the Soviets were coming back."

"The case in point that I'm referring to is when the Dutch were required to defend Srebrenica against the Serbs," he said, referring to the UN peacekeeping force deployed to protect Bosnian Muslim civilians.

"The battalion was understrength, poorly led, and the Serbs came into town, handcuffed the soldiers to the telephone polls, marched the Muslims off and executed them."

Carl Levin, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, pressed him to clarify his comments.

"Did the Dutch leaders tell you it (the fall of Srebrenica) was because there were gay soldiers there?" asked an incredulous Levin.

"Yes," Sheehan said and added: "They included that as part of the problem."

Gen Sheehan, who retired from the military in 1997, said he had been told that by the former chief of staff of the Dutch army.

Mr Levin vehemently rejected Sheehan's allegation, saying that drawing a connection between the massacre at Srebrenica and gays in the Dutch military was "totally off-target".

The failure of the Dutch UN troops to fend off an attack by Bosnian Serb forces had "nothing to do with sexual orientation" but was related to "their training and the rules of engagement," Mr Levin said.

The Dutch government angrily rejected the claim.

"It is astonishing that a man of his stature can utter such complete nonsense," said Roger van de Wetering, the Dutch defence ministry spokesman. "I have never heard of a single statement by a Dutch political or military leader that drew a link between the fall of the enclave and the fact that there were Dutch homosexual soldiers."

Nearly 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys were killed after Serb forces captured the eastern town on July 11 1995, in the worst massacre in Europe since World War II.

Thursday's hearing included testimony from both sides of the debate over the law known as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," which requires gay service members to keep quiet about their sexual orientation or face expulsion from the military.

Two former US officers who were discharged under the 1993 law appealed to lawmakers to repeal the ban, saying it was preventing qualified Americans from serving the country.

Former air force officer Michael Almy said he had kept his homosexuality secret for years but was forced out after a commander ordered a search of his emails written to friends and family.

"'Don't ask, don't tell' failed me, despite the fact that I upheld my end of this law by never disclosing my private life," Almy said.

He said he believed a younger generation in the military was ready to accept openly gay members in the armed forces.

After his dismissal, when he asked former troops to write letters of reference for him, "it was a complete non-issue for my troops," Almy said.

"The young men and women that are coming into the military today, fresh out of high school or college, have grown up with gay and lesbian characters on TV ... know gays and lesbians in their schools, in their communities, on their sports teams and most assuredly in their military."

[Hassan]

What asinine horse poo.

First of all, Serbs were responsible for the slaughter in the Balkins. The extent to which the Dutch could have saved the bosniaks from militant Serbs is another mater. No evidence has been presented that gays in the Dutch military had anything to do with what happened. If you really want to look for someone to share the blame with the individual Serb solders, I'd suggust the orthodox priests and bishops who blessed them and urged them on, rather than Dutch gays

[Apotheoun]

I think you mean . . . Balk[b]a[/b]ns.

[Hassan]

[quote name='Apotheoun' date='19 March 2010 - 03:34 PM' timestamp='1269027278' post='2075843']
I think you mean . . . Balk[b]a[/b]ns.
[/quote]

No, I mean the balkins. They are located in southern Canada, don't worry about it

[Jesus_lol]

This article makes some pretty laughably stupid claims.

[Slappo]

Well if this statement is true:

He said this process included [b]"open homosexuality" which resulted in "a focus on peacekeeping operations[/b] because they did not believe the Germans were going to attack again or the Soviets were coming back."


Then I think it would be a valid claim that the Dutch had some level of responsibility. [u]The responsibility wouldn't be on the homosexual soldiers themselves[/u], but rather [u]the entire Dutch military[/u] for dismissing the need to train troops in combat. The problem is in showing that the bolded statement is true. Make sure you read the underlined.

[God Conquers]

[quote name='Hassan' date='19 March 2010 - 03:41 PM' timestamp='1269027662' post='2075848']
No, I mean the balkins. They are located in southern Canada, don't worry about it
[/quote]

They're nice, I know them.

[Jesus_lol]

[quote name='Slappo' date='19 March 2010 - 01:53 PM' timestamp='1269031980' post='2075899']
Well if this statement is true:

He said this process included [b]"open homosexuality" which resulted in "a focus on peacekeeping operations[/b] because they did not believe the Germans were going to attack again or the Soviets were coming back."


Then I think it would be a valid claim that the Dutch had some level of responsibility. [u]The responsibility wouldn't be on the homosexual soldiers themselves[/u], but rather [u]the entire Dutch military[/u] for dismissing the need to train troops in combat. The problem is in showing that the bolded statement is true. Make sure you read the underlined.
[/quote]

this post makes sense. the underlined seems reasonable enough, the bolded is just unfounded scapegoating.

[Jesus_lol]

[url="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8575717.stm"]The Dutch respond[/url] quite naturally furious.

[Saint Therese]

I just thought it was an interesting article, I didn't say that it was my point of view.

[Apotheoun]

[quote name='Apotheoun' date='19 March 2010 - 01:34 PM' timestamp='1269027278' post='2075843']
I think you mean . . . Balk[b]a[/b]ns.
[/quote]
Getting a negative point for correcting Hassan's spelling is hilarious. It is not my fault that Hassan is a bad speller.

[Saint Therese]

That is pretty funny.

[Apotheoun]

[quote name='Saint Therese' date='20 March 2010 - 08:35 AM' timestamp='1269095757' post='2076242']
That is pretty funny.
[/quote]
Yes, it is. It is not like I am going to make a habit of correcting his spelling, because that would be a full time job, and my health is not good enough for that.

[Fidei Defensor]

I don't even understand the connection trying to be made. Are they saying that gays are too nice? I'll accept that complement...

[Saint Therese]

I'm not sure either. I think poor soldiering, overwhelming forces, poor strategy,etc would be a better excuse.