OUR LATEST ISSUE
Gay news: The Dutch defence ministry described his claim as 'absolute nonsense'
Sheehan: open homosexuality was to blame
Gay soldiers contributed to Srebrenica massacre says US general
A retired US general has blamed "open homosexuality" in the Dutch army as a contributory factor in the failure to prevent the 1995 Srebrenica massacre.
General John Sheehan, a former NATO commander and senior Marine officer, made the remarks at a Senate hearing where he argued against plans by the Obama administration to end the ban on gays serving openly in the military.
Bosnian Serb forces overran lightly armed Dutch soldiers in the United Nations-designated enclave of Srebrenica in July 1995 and subsequently massacred more than 7,000 Muslim men and boys.
Gen Sheehan said that the post-Cold War outlook of European militaries was that "there was no longer a need for an active combat capability", which resulted in "a focus on peacekeeping operations".
There was a consequent move to "socialize" their forces, he said, including allowing "open homosexuality".
"That led to a force that was ill-equipped to go to war. The case in point that I'm referring to is when the Dutch were required to defend Srebrenica against the Serbs.
"The battalion was under-strength, poorly led, and the Serbs came into town, handcuffed the soldiers to the telephone poles, marched the Muslims off, and executed them."
Senator Carl Levin, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, asked: "Did the Dutch leaders tell you it was because there were gay soldiers there?"
Sheehan replied: "Yes, they did. They included that as part of the problem."
Levin described Sheehan's allegation as "totally off-target", and said that the failure of the Dutch troops had "nothing to do with sexual orientation" but was related to "their training and the rules of engagement".
Dutch government officials have responded angrily to Sheehan's remarks and his claim that the source of his information was a former chief of staff of the Dutch army.
"It is astonishing that a man of his stature can utter such complete nonsense," defence ministry spokesman Roger van de Wetering said.
"I have never heard of a single statement by a Dutch political or military leader that drew a link between the fall of the enclave and the fact that there were Dutch homosexual soldiers."
