Would you like a shmoke und a pancake?
Posted on 01/28/2005 11:29:10 AM PST by Cornpone
AMSTERDAM — A large majority of MPs on Thursday backed deploying 25 Dutch soldiers in a Nato operation to train Iraqi security forces in the beleaguered Iraqi capital Baghdad.
Opposition parties green-left GroenLinks and the Socialist Party SP voted against the mission. GroenLinks MP Farah Karimi said it was irresponsible to send troops to the most dangerous city in Iraq, where bombings by insurgents are occurring on an almost daily basis.
The mission is initially planned to take no longer than six months. But the Cabinet has said a large detachment might also be dispatched to Iraq and that it is possible they will be stationed there for a longer period of time.
There are currently 90 Nato soldiers in Iraq teaching Iraqi soldiers to become trainers. The alliance said earlier this month that it would increase its deployment to about 300 troops.
Dutch MPs backed the mission during a fiery debate in the Lower House of Parliament with Foreign Minister Ben Bot and Defence Minister Henk Kamp on Thursday.
Kamp said he was not concerned about the safety of the Dutch troops because they would be quartered in a heavily-guarded section of Baghdad where diplomatic missions and embassies are also located.
But government coalition party the Christian Democrat CDA came under heavy fire during the debate after parliamentary leader Maxime Verhagen sparked confusion about a possible extension of the present peacekeeping mission in the south of Iraq.
The Liberal VVD — which had wanted to extend the peacekeeping mission until the end of this year — strongly rebuked Verhagen. Labour PvdA MP Bert Koenders also criticised the CDA, claiming the party had caused international damage to Dutch prestige.
CDA Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende confirmed last week that the mission will end as planned mid-March. This was despite the fact that Britain, the US, Japan and the Iraqi interim government had urged the Dutch government to extend the mission.
Some 1,400 Dutch troops are stationed in the Iraqi province of al-Muthanna. Two soldiers have been killed since the mission started in the summer of 2003. About 350 replacement troops will be re-deployed for six to eight weeks after the end of the mission to dismantle the Dutch camps.
"GroenLinks MP Farah Karimi said it was irresponsible to send troops to the most dangerous city in Iraq, where bombings by insurgents are occurring on an almost daily basis."
Isnt that what an army is for? I wonder what William of Orange would think.
This correlates nicely with the following Post from
the Scotsman re more Brits heading to Iraq. IMO
Head of States have rethought or been reminded of
President Bush's admonition: It's better to fight
terrorists in Iraq than on our home turf!"
Would you like a shmoke und a pancake?
Europe doesn't have many William of Orange types anymore. Apparently they either died out or moved here.
People who are intolerant of other people's culture...
...And the Dutch
The Dutch will train the Iraqis. In the process they will learn the arab language, muslim customs and traditions and a whole bunch of other stuff that will become useful when the islamic revolution occurs in The Netherlands.
You must not have been around when the Dutch BBE took out the Molluccan terrorists who'd taken a school and trainload of hostages for most of two weeks at Beilen back in 1977. I thought the low-level supersonic passes by a couple of Dutch Air Force F104 Starfighters was a rather neat tactic...
The Dutch have been surprisingly (to me, at any rate) helpful in Iraq. Modest contributions, but then again it is not a very large country. Rijkstaffel bump.
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