Denmark Is Not At War

A Danish soldier died in Iraq. His family got a letter from the Danish minister of defence, saying that they are sorry about the loss, and so on. But they said that their son didn't die as a result of Denmark being at war. Because Denmark isn't at war, they are there for peacekeeping purposes. So they will not get compensated the loss of their son from the Danish army.

The insurance company on the other hand told them that there is a war going on in Iraq. So they would not get money from the insurance company either, because their son died in an act of war.

So, there you go. Because there seems to be some confusion regarding whether Denmark is in a state of war or not, the families won't get compensated their loss from neither the Army nor the insurance companies. Expect this war to become ever more popular in Denmark soon...

That's a disgrace!

I don't really blame the insurance company if that was part of the contract, but the government is definitely in the wrong. Whenever a nation-state sends its troops overseas to engage an enemy, it's a defacto war, no matter what the politicians call it.

Hopefully they'll be enough public outcry to this that the government will have to reverse its position.

I don't know the details in this case, and I've so far only seen this story in off-line news (paper version). But I think the army should pay first, and then they can argue with the insurance company afterwards. The family should not have to choose whether they want to fight the army or fight the insurance company in order to get compensated. The army and the insurance company does not agree about Denmark being in war or not. The soldier's relatives should not have to deal with this as well as their loss.

[edit on 2007/2/7 by Hellmutt]