[wretchard]

"Fueling a widening debate, a senior cabinet minister says the Dutch government must accept responsibility for the deaths of thousands of Bosnian Muslims who were under the protection of Dutch troops in the U.N.-declared safe area of Srebrenica in 1995."

Why is the Dutch government responsible? Weren't they under UN command? To what extent is the United Nations responsible for this debacle? Their declaration of "safe heavens" had the effect of herding civilians into killing zones. You will recall that the Jews were promised showers, too.

I distinctly remember that European troops were manacled to lamposts, that UN armored vehicle parks were commandeered by the Serbs and that the French UN commander was virtually imprisoned in Sarajevo, furtively on a balcony whenever the snipers were quiet. Surely "UN Command" implies some sort of command responsibility for this incompetence?

I think all the "Buck Stops Here" signs at the UN have been replaced by "Buck Spent Here" signs.

[a_Turk]

This is obvious political maneuvering by the Dutch politician. I posted it because we have people on this forum who are convinced that this never happened, just like there are those that will swear that there was no holocaust..

[Spar]

The concept of "safe-havens" has no standing in international law or the rules of war. It was a recent invention.

The closest lawful concept of the safe haven is the concept of a Towns or cities that are undefended or open

Since the UN did not disarm the Moslems on Srebrenica, and in fact Moslem forces used these "safe havens" to launch operations against the Serbs, the Serbs had no obligation under law to respect the UN's designation of a safe haven.

There was no lawful sanction that would have prevented the Serbs from liberating Srebrenica.