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Sat, Feb 11 2012
Retired US General: Gay Dutch troops contributed to Srebrenica massacre
Graveyard at the Srebenica/Potočari memorial centre, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Photo: Mazbln
A former top U.S. and NATO commander says the Netherlands' inclusion of gays in their military rendered Dutch peacekeeping troops unable to prevent the slaughter of thousands of Bosnian Muslims at Srebrenica in 1995.
Retired U.S. Marine General John Sheehan led the U.S. Atlantic Command and served as the top NATO commander in the mid-1990s, the height of ethnic cleansing in former-Yugoslavia.
He told the Senate Armed Services Committee that allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in the U.S. military would breed friction and undermine unit cohesion in the armed forces. Asked by Senator Carl Levin whether other nations, like Britain and Israel, had suffered as a result of ending their nation's bans on gay military service, the general said "yes."
Sheehan pointed to the Netherlands, which he said embarked on a process of social engineering in the Dutch military once the Cold War ended. "They declared a peace dividend and made a conscious effort to socialize their military. It included open homosexuality. That led to a force that was ill-equipped to go to war," he said.
In fact, the Netherlands was among the first nations to end discrimination in the military based on sexual orientation, affirming the right of gays to serve years before the fall of the former Soviet Union.
Sheehan backed his contention that gay soldiers undermined Dutch combat readiness by pointing to the massacre of Bosnian Muslims at Srebrenica in 1995. Four-hundred Dutch peacekeepers protecting the area were overwhelmed by Serbian forces, which killed an estimated 8,000 Muslim men and boys.
Linking the massacre to the Netherlands allowing gays in the military prompted this exchange with Senator Levin, who seemed perplexed by Sheehan's assertion.
SHEEHAN: "That [Srebrenica] was the largest massacre in Europe since World War II."
LEVIN: "And did the Dutch leaders tell you it was because there were gay soldiers there?"
SHEEHAN: "It was a combination ..."
LEVIN: "Did they tell you [that gay soldiers were to blame], that is my question."
SHEEHAN: "Yes."
LEVIN: "They did?"
SHEEHAN: "They included that as part of the problem."
Asked for comment, Dutch military officials expressed astonishment. The spokesman for the Netherlands Ministry of Defense, Roger van de Wetering, told VOA Sheehan's assertions are "total nonsense" and that he "cannot believe that a man of that rank is stating such a thing." He added that he had never heard Sheehan's allegation before from any source in the Netherlands or anywhere else.
Many historians have argued that Dutch peacekeeping forces in the Balkans were under-equipped and hampered by operational limitations imposed by the United Nations.
The Senate hearing is being held two months after President Barack Obama called on Congress to repeal a law mandating the U.S. military expel gay service members who do not keep their sexual orientation a secret.
Since then, many of the nation's top military officials and commanders have voiced support for changing the policy after a thorough review process. Some have expressed their personal opposition to repealing the law, but have pledged to enforce any new rules set forth by Congress.
Source: VOANews.com
Retired U.S. Marine General John Sheehan led the U.S. Atlantic Command and served as the top NATO commander in the mid-1990s, the height of ethnic cleansing in former-Yugoslavia.
He told the Senate Armed Services Committee that allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in the U.S. military would breed friction and undermine unit cohesion in the armed forces. Asked by Senator Carl Levin whether other nations, like Britain and Israel, had suffered as a result of ending their nation's bans on gay military service, the general said "yes."
Sheehan pointed to the Netherlands, which he said embarked on a process of social engineering in the Dutch military once the Cold War ended. "They declared a peace dividend and made a conscious effort to socialize their military. It included open homosexuality. That led to a force that was ill-equipped to go to war," he said.
In fact, the Netherlands was among the first nations to end discrimination in the military based on sexual orientation, affirming the right of gays to serve years before the fall of the former Soviet Union.
Sheehan backed his contention that gay soldiers undermined Dutch combat readiness by pointing to the massacre of Bosnian Muslims at Srebrenica in 1995. Four-hundred Dutch peacekeepers protecting the area were overwhelmed by Serbian forces, which killed an estimated 8,000 Muslim men and boys.
Linking the massacre to the Netherlands allowing gays in the military prompted this exchange with Senator Levin, who seemed perplexed by Sheehan's assertion.
SHEEHAN: "That [Srebrenica] was the largest massacre in Europe since World War II."
LEVIN: "And did the Dutch leaders tell you it was because there were gay soldiers there?"
SHEEHAN: "It was a combination ..."
LEVIN: "Did they tell you [that gay soldiers were to blame], that is my question."
SHEEHAN: "Yes."
LEVIN: "They did?"
SHEEHAN: "They included that as part of the problem."
Asked for comment, Dutch military officials expressed astonishment. The spokesman for the Netherlands Ministry of Defense, Roger van de Wetering, told VOA Sheehan's assertions are "total nonsense" and that he "cannot believe that a man of that rank is stating such a thing." He added that he had never heard Sheehan's allegation before from any source in the Netherlands or anywhere else.
Many historians have argued that Dutch peacekeeping forces in the Balkans were under-equipped and hampered by operational limitations imposed by the United Nations.
The Senate hearing is being held two months after President Barack Obama called on Congress to repeal a law mandating the U.S. military expel gay service members who do not keep their sexual orientation a secret.
Since then, many of the nation's top military officials and commanders have voiced support for changing the policy after a thorough review process. Some have expressed their personal opposition to repealing the law, but have pledged to enforce any new rules set forth by Congress.
Source: VOANews.com
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The Sofia Echo
Of all the wonderful gay people I am friends with, not a single one ever had any desire to join the military "lifestyle." There are probably very few gay people who enjoy guns and fighting and wish to become professional killers--soldiers--so even if the military welcomed gays with open arms, it would attract very few of them, probably one or two for every several hundred straight ones. This General and people like him attribute entire military failures not to bad strategy, underfunding, or poorly trained troops but to these few lone individuals. Sounds like scapegoating to me.
btw Herx,
s.b might just turn out to be a "prospect" you know.
Usually the ones with the anti-gay views are the ones with their feet dangling over the fence.
I'd put some money on that general as well...
@Herx
yeah but you keep your home clean - that's different from the heterosexual lifestyle right there;)
I think that general is full of crap. Only folks who see sex as the most important thing in life, (usually the deprived ones) would call a sexual preference a "lifestyle".
It's just a preference.
I am a proud member of the blond babes lifestyle community.
So?
I'd still make a terrible solder.
s.b: You are obviously a homophobe, because you say there is the "gay lifestyle". There is no such thing. I'm gay, and guess what my lifestyle is: working between 5 - 7 days a week (by choice), paying taxes and keeping my home clean. There - that is my "gay lifestyle". So different from "the heterosexual lifestyle."
i think what happened was Serb soldiers offered the Dutch protection battallion free Elton John CD's and year supply of Astro Glide, that's sealed the Bosniaks fate...
The General seems to be hanging too much at the Cafes in Amsterdam. Looks like he's been smoking too much of the good stufffff.
to sb they certainly do have values including burying teenage girls alive for talking to boys! Great values!
s.b. I can only assume that you must be muslim to make such a comment.
should have said "...aren't being placed..."
The general's comments are being placed in it's entire context. He said that allowing openly gay people to serve is "part" of the reason the unit was not combat ready. He certainly didn't say it was the only reason, or even the primary reason. This quote has been seized on merely because of it's sensationalistic value.
This general confirms my opinion that gays and lesbians should avoid the army - because the military is mentally unable to live with homosexual people (who make up about 8% of the population)in a normal way. If this kind of opinions is held in the top , what must NCO's and the ranks think?
As to what happened in Srebrenica, this fool shows a total lack of understanding of the situation and of Dutchbat's mission. They were no there to fight, they were there to keep two groups of thugs out of each other's hair. This [...]
Read the full comment was just one battalion encircled by a vastly superior force. If they hat fought, there would have been carnage, especially among the population who did not have shelters and armoured vehicles. And, of course, Dutchbatt would have been cursed for not following their orders. But I have seen more generals behave like this: you bring soldiers in an impossible situation, and if things go wrong and there is criticism you blame it on them. Dutchbatt's surpreme commander, French general Janvier did the same right after the event. Officers and gentlemen.
This claim can not be taken seriously.It is a naive one.The soldiers take orders by their governments and they do not act on their own will.So probably the failure in Srebenica was due to wrong orders that superiors gave to them and not the sexual orientation of some soldiers.
@s.b.
I live in the Netherlands for more than half a century now and I do not see the corruption you are referring to, except for the mental capacities in phobic idiots like you. But luckily yours are on the decline. The Neth. is a civilized and reasonable pleasant place to live.
One of the last medieval thing we did get rid of was discrimination against sexual orientation, now only advocated by few marginal low lives.
Anyway, again a serious blow to the reputation of the US, having had people like Sheenan [...]
Read the full comment at such a high rank. Still a bit of Bush country there.
John Sheehan is probably right. The gay lifestyle is synonymous with corruption. I'm Dutch and I think that in our society it has become a cancer that fundamentally threatens its existence. The muslims are taking over because they still have some healthy values.