Homosexuals caused Srebrenica!

[Gadjodilo]

"as exemplified by" not "as caused by"

Christ, the standard of education in this country is so crappy...

This is nothing to do with education, not mine anyway. You're the one who is presenting gay recruitment as an example of the pacification of the Dutch army.

[Sync]

There's 3 options, 1) the General is lying to congress, 2) he was in fact told the story by the Dutch, 3) he was told A story and misinterpreted it.

Even if Sheehan was expressing a personal belief, he's just expressing one that is still held by the American military and government. He really doesn't deserve the attention this is getting.

[ibis]

There is all manner of explanation for this. One is that Dutch commanders may have been bemoaning the "pacification" of the Dutch armed forces, as examplified in part by approach to gay recruitment. I could see that makes sense.

You said yourself that you could see that makes sense. I don't think it's a wild misinterpretation to take that to mean that you think it makes sense that the pacification of Dutch soldiers is exemplified in part by recruitment of gays. Please clarify.

Army with gays = gay army?

[Tombo]

This is nothing to do with education, not mine anyway. You're the one who is presenting gay recruitment as an example of the pacification of the Dutch army.

I am saying that Dutch military officers might have held it up to be such an example. There may have been other things as well.

You seem to be implying that a policy shift towards open gay recruitment in the armed forced could not be a sign of pacification of a military force.

But one thing is pretty indisputable, the Dutch soldiers reacted like pacifists.

[Dillinger]

I Got chatted up once by Dutch soldiers in Split airport back in 1990's. I was heading to Mostar and they were waiting to come home. I was busy eyeing up the Croat trolly dollies, it freaked me out a bit to have male Dutch soldiers throwing the eye on me. My mates were ripping the piss after that incident.

[ibis]

I Got chatted up once by Dutch soldiers in Split airport back in 1990's. I was heading to Mostar and they were waiting to come home. I was busy eyeing up the Croat trolly dollies, it freaked me out a bit to have male Dutch soldiers throwing the eye on me. My mates were ripping the piss after that incident.

I got chatted up once by an Irish soldier who was heading off to the Lebanon...that being in the Eighties.

[The Caped Cod]

Oddly reminiscent of the failure of Belgian and UN forces in Rwanda, though I fail to see the connection to sexuality.

[Gadjodilo]

I am saying that Dutch military officers might have held it up to be such an example. There may have been other things as well.

Okay.

You seem to be implying that a policy shift towards open gay recruitment in the armed forced could not be a sign of pacification of a military force.

I believe there is no link whatsoever.

But one thing is pretty indisputable, the Dutch soldiers reacted like pacifists.

I've actually been meaning to read up on it for some time. It's a REALLY sore point for the Dutch and I'd say much of the Dutch anger today is due to the fact that this 17 year old incident is back making world headlines.

[toxic avenger]

The poor leadership, squabbling, and impotence of the UN, informed massively by the malign influence of British foreign policy under the Tory government, led to the circumstances that existed at the time. And even they did not 'cause' Srebrenica, the Bosnian Serb mass-murderers, goaded on by their Belgrade sponsors, caused Srebrenica. Blaming the Dutch troops, let alone any gay Dutch troops, is utterly absurd. It might or might not be a real conversation the US general had, but the very fact he used such ridiculous hearsay as an argument makes him unfit for his position.

[Tombo]

I believe there is no link whatsoever.

So you don't think that a raft of "socialising" measures for a military force might contain one that explicitly forbids discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation or actively encourages "diversity" on this basis?