Posted on 04/21/2005 9:53:30 AM PDT by Eurotwit
Denmark's Liberal-Conservative government and the opposition's Social Democrats agree on continuing Danish military presence in Iraq. Danish military reports of increased Iraqi trust towards its soldiers
Denmark's military presence in Iraq is faring well both at home and on the front, daily newspaper Berlingske Tidende reported Thursday.
The Liberal-Conservative government agrees with the Social Democrats, the largest opposition party, that the troops' stay in Iraq should be extended when it expires in June. Their tasks, however, will be aimed in a more humanitarian direction than now.
Henrik Lyhne, chief of the Danish battalion in Basra, said the local population had been showing surer signs of trusting the Danish troops after the general assembly election on 30 January. A growing number of Iraqis approached Danish soldiers, providing intelligence information on terrorists, bombs, and regular criminal activity.
'Ever since the January election we have felt a growing willingness to cooperate and approach us,' Lyhne told reporters.
He said soldiers both experienced the cooperative spirit when they were patrolling the surrounding area, and because Iraqis literally knocked on the encampment's gates to provide sensitive information.
'It happens every day, and the information is essential to our capability to do our duty,' Lyhne said.
His comments are in accordance with an analysis from the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the security situation in Iraq, which confirms information on positive development in the country. The analysis is due next week and will be used in parliament to decide whether Denmark should continue its military engagement in Iraq.
Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen said it was natural to adjust the military's tasks to a changed situation after the successful Iraqi election in January, by placing more emphasis on education of Iraqi soldiers and police officers, and protection of UN personnel.
'I think it would demand Danish presence more or less similar to what we have now,' he said. 'I have high expectations that the Social Democrats will back continued Danish presence in Iraq.'
The Social Democrat's new chairman, Helle Thorning-Schmidt, has previously stated that Denmark should not give up on Iraq.
'We can live with the current volume,' she said of the military engagement. 'What's important are the tasks we carry out.'
Despite political backup and growing trust in Danish soldiers, violence continued to escalate between different Iraqi factions. On Wednesday, the bodies of 57 men, women, and children were discovered in the river Tigris. Iraqi authorities said they were probably Shia Muslim hostages from the town of Maen, near Bagdad.
Twenty Iraqi soldiers were also kidnapped in the town of Haditha on Wednesday, taken to a sports stadium and executed. Only one survived.
Good news. Good for the Danes. They seem to be a better ally than the majority of western european countries.
The Danes are currently a role model that most western European nations should copy ASAP.
Oh, and lots hot women in Denmark as well :-P
Cheers.
Better than than the Norwegian chicks???
the danes have good looking teachers, we hear...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1387581/posts
Well, Swedish, Danish, and Norwegians are pretty much the same as far as looks ago.
But, Danish girls are jollier :-)
Or, perhaps that's only because alcohol is cheaper.. :-)
My wife has a button which says: "Pray for me. My husband is a Dane." However, every once in a while, like when she read this article, she is proud of our heritage.
More allies in Iraq, means less US Boots on the ground, works for me.
LOL.
One Danish for me, please :-)
Actually, and interestingly, when looking at all those photographs, it appears that Swedish women in Sweden, and American women of Swedish descent in America, share more similarities (physical) with each other, than any of these other comparisons with American women.
The Norwegian, Danish, Faeroese, and Icelandic must get a little diluted here in this country.
That's because the population of the Faeroe Islands consists of good ol' Ernie and his stamp collection.
It's a good thing to know who your buddies are...!
Mange Takk, Danmark! This ole Norwegian-American appreciates your faithfulness to us and to Iraq. You are true friends.
Well, NOTHING is better than Norwegian chicks!
Norwegian women aren't all blonds, as you know. In Bergen don't they tend to have darker hair? My cousin is dark-haired but he's part French, and his wife has dark hair, too. None of his children are blonde. They're all still good looking!
More coalition-is-falling-apart news. Obviously the Iraqis prefer to live under the old regime, rather than a democratically-elected government.
[/sarcasm]
Yeah, I was always surprised.
I have seen women from Turkey with blonde hair--real blonde, not dyed--as well as women from Italy, whereas the stereotype is that they "all" have dark hair.
No disparagement of blonde women--especially beautiful blonde women on Free Republic--but we all have our personal tastes, and, well, living in a state surfeited with good-looking blondes, I sort of perfer the "more exotic" brunettes and black-hairs.
And trust me--South Dakota, to the north of Nebraska, is stacked with good-looking blondes; all over the place, so many good-looking blonde women of all ages and all sizes it boogles the mind and reels the eyes.
But one can have too much of a good thing, and so prefers that which is rare. For my personal tastes, of all the places I have lived, I consider the women of Pennsylvania to be the most beautiful.
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