Dutch set to publish Iraq war inquiry

Dutch set to publish Iraq war inquiry

news.bbc.co.uk

A Dutch inquiry into the run-up to the Iraq war is to issue its report.

The current Dutch government set up the inquiry following the leaking of foreign ministry memos casting doubt on the legal basis for the war.

The Netherlands gave political but not military support to the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

The report has the potential to bitterly embarrass the Dutch government and reinforce the international case against the Iraq war.

The Davids Commission - named after the retired senior judge

(visit the link for the full news article)

Things are getting worse and worse for the case of the U.S. led invasion of Iraq... More and more countries are coming out with reports about how the war was possibly illegal and based on lies.

I wonder what will come out of all this. Maybe some international war crimes tribunal cases in the Hague? Will we finally see W. and Dick finally face the sword of lady justice?

Peace,

Magnum

news.bbc.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)

Originally posted by Magnum007


Will we finally see W. and Dick finally face the sword of lady justice?

I now have something to pray for as I go to bed tonight.

Thanks Magnum and goodnight ATS.

Sorry to dissapoint you guys but this so called commission was created to cover up the affair!

Nothing will come from it...

Originally posted by BazzeMan
Sorry to dissapoint you guys but this so called commission was created to cover up the affair!

Nothing will come from it...

Although that is maybe the intended purpose, remember that the more inquiries there are, the more words said or written, the more likely someone will slip up and hand us the evidence they want to withhold... Remember, police don't care what you say when you lie, they just want to get you talking so that you get more and more entangled and contradict yourself. Once that happens, then there is no turning back...

Peace,

Magnum

reply to post by Magnum007


Not in Holland, my friend.

Not in Holland.

Dutch PM just held a press converence, he does not agree with the negative conclusions of the commission. He said he will need time to come up with a statement by the cabinet.

Highlights of the commision report:

- Dutch PM lacked leadership.
- Dutch cabinet did not inform parliament completely.
- Dutch deciscion to support the war in Iraq was taken in 45 minutes by the FM and his staff.
- No proof was found of active involvement by Dutch militairy in Iraq.
- No legal grounds were found to support the Iraq war

There might be some other highlights but the report is over 500 pages and I haven't read them all yet.

The report (in Dutch), the conclusions and summary (both in English and Dutch) can be downloaded from www.onderzoekscommissie-irak.nl...

[edit on 12-1-2010 by -Rugged Shark-]

I have had the tv on in the office most of the day listening to Alastair Campbell, Tony Blair's communications guru being grilled by the comission. Talk about BS! Spin spin spin, denial denial denial.
To be fair, the panel were asking him some pointed questions and I got the impression at times he was beginning to squirm a little, but I do not see much coming out of it.

Dutch PM is in a difficult situation after his press conference earlier today. Coalition partner PVDA demands a new statement by the PM regarding his criticism of the report.

Unless the Dutch, or any other group want to come out and formally make charges, nothing will come out of this...

unfortunately

I, as an American, would LOVE to see Dub and Dick have to explain themselves...as well as alot of others

the charges would have to include Condi, Rummy, and a whole slew of Cabinet, military, and the entirety of U.S. Congress

and where would you hold the hearings...for impartiality

NOTHING will come out of this

unfortunately

The factual accusations being made by the commission seem strong at first, even I was somewhat impressed! However, if you look at some other things, it all seems to make sense.

Why would the commission say that there is no evidence for troop-support to Irak when we all know that we have sent troops? Hell, one of these guys even got sued by our defense department for shooting an Iraqi! Do you feel the bitter irony in this?

The report also stated that our submarines (yes we have a few) were not involved. Nearly all of the movements and missions of our submarine fleet are topsecret. It was not necessary for the commission to even mention this, except when our subs were alctually used, of course.

Then the strange remark that our PM was not involved in the decision making process because he was still learning the job...

In a nutshell:

Yes, mistakes have been made but no-one is to blame.

PM Balkenende was not amused with the conclusions this commission has made in spite of the fact that he installed this commission himself and handing them with some strickt rules and terms.

No state-secrets were allowed in the final draft and the PM handpicked the commission. Some paragraphs were likely censored out of the final draft because the commission was ordered to work under absolute secrecy and some officials were allowed to censor some of it before it became public.

Welcome to Holland, my friends. Where the Italian mafia send their pupils to learn from our government officials.

It really is a sad thing.

Originally posted by BazzeMan
Why would the commission say that there is no evidence for troop-support to Irak when we all know that we have sent troops? Hell, one of these guys even got sued by our defense department for shooting an Iraqi! Do you feel the bitter irony in this?

The report said there was no evidence found for actual troop support which is truthful and correct. It doesn't say they've failed to find any evidence because they are incompetent, it says they've looked for it by asking the high ranking generals and commanders (but not the actual soldiers who might have been involved) and they accept the given answers as truth.

I'm not saying Hollands war efforts amounted to much if there were any and I believe there was some. While the army is highly trained and well equipped, it's just not that large, we're a small country with a population of about 16 million. There was only 1 ship near Iraq which supported the American and British ships as they were building up a force prior to the invasion under the guise of an anti terror operation.

The report also mentioned the appearance of Dutch military during the US/British press conference about the invasion in Iraq. The poor Dutch officer who was instructed to stand in front of the camera's didn't know what was going on and the blame is put on a poorly organized department of Defense, miscommunication and lack of information. The footage made it mainstream and gave the impression there was a coalition of the willing and Holland supported this coalition. In Holland it appeared a few individuals suddenly had the power to start an illegal war, which is one of the reasons this commission was formed - to disprove these views and take away the worries of the public that such things are possible in a democracy.

[edit on 12/1/2010 by Dragonfly79]

reply to post by Dragonfly79


Thanks for the reply!

www.anarchiel.com...

I have this gut feeling that you can read Dutch
It seems that things are a bit more complicated as they seem. I don't subscribe to the idea that this was all a big mess-up, but clearly a case of good ol' Dutch standard policy: "screw them citizens and just get on with the damn thing!"

Groetjes uit Eindhoven!

You know what he (PM) said at the press conference after all the evidence was shown....

Quote: Yes thats an opinion!

R u frigging kidding me

What a Clown,Im ashamed to be Dutch really am

reply to post by sunspot0


Don't worry, I am ashamed at what my government has done too... but I would never be ashamed of being Canadian because I know that being Canadian has nothing to do with politics... It's about how we are as people, as a society.

Peace,

Magnum