If we must go to war, let's not go Dutch

The Guardian ^ | April 24 2002 | Ian Buruma

[knighthawk]

Wim Kok did not do 'the honourable thing', he took the path of the least resistance. The week after the cabinet fell, there would have been an debate about this, and Kok evaded that debate. May 15 there will be elections, and Kok knew the PvdA (socialists) will even lose more voters when the other parties tear him and the other PvdA ministers to shreds.

[knighthawk]

Ping

[knighthawk]

FYI

[Dragonfly]

BUMP

[Shermy]

A very interesting article. A little too hard on the Dutch - "Dutchification" and the implication that the rest of Western Europe doesn't "moralise." But the writer is Dutch and angry at what happened, I suppose.

[mikenola]

It's a good thing the govt fell. If a right-of-center govt can take power, the Dutch can be a true leader in Europe. That means Dutch kids exiting university will actually have to *work* instead of living off their 'uitkering', while they "find themselves".

[knighthawk]

Hey, where did you learnt the word 'uitkering'?

Here is another: 'bijstand' (is also a form of 'uitkering')

[knighthawk]

I cannot blame people for thinking this way. It is really sad what happened there. It could have been avoided. And now the government (although fallen, they still work) wants to send troops to Macadonia!

[weikel]

What does "uitkering" mean?

[Poohbah]

Translates as "unemployment."

[Banat]

The "massacre" in Srebrenica is the biggest hoax of the 90s.

[Spar]

There are not enough words of praise I can bestow upon the Serbs for their liberation of Srebrenica.

[donozark]

Heineken?

[donozark]

A bump for you my friend. Any "similarities" herein?

[wimpycat]

This can't be from the "Guardian". You're obviously pulling our leg.

For when you are faced by killers, do-gooding no longer does good.

I'm still flabbergasted at how this got by the editors. Good article!

[xm177e2]

Wim Kok did not do 'the honourable thing', he took the path of the least resistance.

No. In a Parliamentary Democracy, when there is a large scandal, the government is supposed to resign.

[Dutchy]

Thanks for the lesson in Dutch. I'm glad the government resigned. Unfortunately, the Dutch army has been a joke since when?? 1946??? What were the U.N. rules of engagement at the massacre?? I am sure that U.S. troops would not have stood by and let a massacre happen...

[wimpycat]

Oh, by the way, I love your profile page. In return, let me just say, "Thank God for Rembrandt, van Gogh, Corrie ten Boom, tulips, Heineken and Johan Cruyff."

[Poohbah]

If US troops had been ordered to protect the people, they would have gone out fighting. There'd probably be a memorial in Srebrenica to the brave Americans who sacrificed their lives against impossible odds. And the Bosnians would be ratting out Al-Qaeda cells as fast as they could find them.

[Dutchy]

Agreed. I have full confidence in our military forces. They have never let us down in 226 years, as depicted in Black Hawk Down, We were Soldiers, to name a few recent films....