Malcolm_X
02-04-03, 13:44
The Netherlands' 'Political' War Against Iraq
April 01, 2003, 05:55 AM
"Before the Bush administration started its actual firing on Iraqi targets, Dutch public opinion was largely anti-war, which was reflected in the general mood in talk-shows and public debates .."
(PalestineChronicle.com) - The Netherlands is a small country, approximately the size of historical Palestine, and home to around 16 million people, so on the surface, it would seem that it hardly matters what political views are held in this country, where it concerns their effect on the course of world history.
However, the Netherlands may just be the final and definitive proof that size does not matter. Both for historical as well as political reasons, this country has greater importance than one might think.
In the colonial era, the Netherlands, together with Britain, France and the empires of the Iberian peninsula, was one of the major colonial powers. For example, one should not forget that the Netherlands once ruled over Indonesia, being only one of its several overseas colonies, not to mention the worlds largest Muslim nation.
Ever since the colonial era, the world has been engulfed in a global market economy, and within this system of power distribution, the size of a country is often overruled by its position in the world market.
It is there that one sees the impressive feats of such a small country, and finds it ranking high among well-known economic superpowers, cradling many world concerns and corporate businesses, playing, as it were, in the major league. True, it is not the all-star team in that league, but it always remains in the competition.
If only for this reason, it would be interesting to analyse the Dutch position in the war, even more so since it has adopted a rather unique position in comparison to its European neighbours.
Before the Bush administration started its actual firing on Iraqi targets, Dutch public opinion was largely anti-war, which was reflected in the general mood in talk-shows and public debates. In the mean time, elections had been held, and the central-right CDA (the largest Christian party) and the PvdA (Labor Party) both came out as winners, the CDA having a significant advantage.
This was the beginning of weeks and weeks of debates about the formation of a CDA-PvdA government, and though the negotiation of this marriage between left and right was only advancing slowly, it started to look more and more as if progress had been made. Many issues were on the agenda, as was to be expected from a potential left-right coalition, but most people were anxious about how the debate about the war would develop, since there seemed to be a strong division between the parties over this issue.
Prime minister Balkenende was very clear, from the start, about his opinion on the war. He wasnt enthusiastically applauding it, but when it seemed to become inevitable that the Anglo-American coalition was indeed going to pound Iraq with its military might, he left no uncertainties about what the Dutch position should be: political support, but no military support. In other words, a passive, but definitely pro-war attitude.
However, his leftist counterpart, Wouter Bos, was expressing quite different views. He kept pointing to the fact that the USA had no mandate to conduct this war, and that other, non-violent strategies had not been sufficiently exhausted.
Then missiles started raining down on Baghdad, and the mood suddenly changed. Instead of the expected shock and horror in Dutch public opinion, there seemed to be a short period of uncertainty, only to then sweep into a mood of compliance with US policies. The most heard argument for this case, was that We were not for this war, but now that it has started, we cannot afford to refrain from supporting the American strategy.
Within this same time frame, Wouter Bos, the voice of the left, expressed this exact same type of position, to the shock and surprise of many. In the following debates about the spin-off of this change in position, the two parties then managed to reach a consensus, namely the exact position of CDAs Balkenende. Wouter Bos had changed his position drastically, and given in to the CDAs demands.
One would expect that the leader of a party who capitulates like that during cabinet formation negotiations, would suffer heavy criticism and loss of support from his constituents. However, wednesday March 26 , when he was expected to give his explanation to his party members, and feared to be heavily criticized, he received a relatively mild tap on the fingers, and was otherwise received warmly as the partys valuable spokesman and leader.
The smaller left-wing parties, like Groen Links (the Green leftists) and the SP (Socialist Party) have adhered to their anti-war stance, but have voiced their opposition rather mildly, while representing only a small portion of the Dutch population.
Sympathy for the Iraqi people currently seems to be following the guidelines of Anglo-American publicity, with their position being, that the Iraqi citizens need to be liberated from the dictatorial regime of Saddam Hussein, and that they should welcome the incoming missiles as tools that will put an end to years of oppression.
Apparently, many Dutch people feel comfortable under the umbrella of Balkenendes mantra of political, but no military support for the war on Iraq . This position, and its analogous reflection in the political field, has led to a situation where the Netherlands are politically isolated, being surrounded by countries that are against this war, at least in their statements, namely Belgium and Germany, with Belgium bordering to the south on France, where over 90% of public opinion is firmly anti-war.
It is not only for moral reasons, that making the choice of following the USA in its sweep at world hegemony will most likely prove to be an unwise decision. One might choose to disregard the fact that it is not totally clear whether there is, indeed, no Dutch military involvement, considering the fact that US general Franks appeared on CNN with commanders from England, Australia, Denmark and the Netherlands in a recent press conference, thanking them for their cooperation. Still it is regrettable, both from an economic and political point of view, that the Dutch have chosen to isolate themselves from a large portion of the European mainland by adopting this position.
In fact, the attitude of the Dutch strangely mirrors that of the governments of the Arab nations, who are for stopping this war, but generally against actual involvement of their governments. One could call this political but no military opposition.
There is, therefore, from a humanitarian point of view, ample reason to be disappointed with Wouter Bos. However, there seems to be equally sufficient evidence that his political capitulation is applauded, if not tolerated, by the majority of the Dutch population. Apparently, his eagerness to stay within the future coalition overruled his previous moralisations about the war that the USA was about to launch upon the nation of Iraq.
I suppose it is quite easy, to give the green light to firepower directed upon an entire country, as long as it is not your country, and as long as it is not your finger that is pulling the trigger. But perhaps we should all ask ourselves: what would it be like, if all this firepower was directed at our homes?
Some may find relief from the US propagated notion that they are only firing at targets, not at people. Dont you sometimes wonder what they mean, when they talk about hitting Iraqi targets? All you have to do is look around you, at the room you are sitting in: this is exactly what targets look like, only they are situated in the Middle East, and the man or woman sitting on the equivalent of your chair, is most probably an Arab.
www.arabia.com
April 01, 2003, 05:55 AM
"Before the Bush administration started its actual firing on Iraqi targets, Dutch public opinion was largely anti-war, which was reflected in the general mood in talk-shows and public debates .."
(PalestineChronicle.com) - The Netherlands is a small country, approximately the size of historical Palestine, and home to around 16 million people, so on the surface, it would seem that it hardly matters what political views are held in this country, where it concerns their effect on the course of world history.
However, the Netherlands may just be the final and definitive proof that size does not matter. Both for historical as well as political reasons, this country has greater importance than one might think.
In the colonial era, the Netherlands, together with Britain, France and the empires of the Iberian peninsula, was one of the major colonial powers. For example, one should not forget that the Netherlands once ruled over Indonesia, being only one of its several overseas colonies, not to mention the worlds largest Muslim nation.
Ever since the colonial era, the world has been engulfed in a global market economy, and within this system of power distribution, the size of a country is often overruled by its position in the world market.
It is there that one sees the impressive feats of such a small country, and finds it ranking high among well-known economic superpowers, cradling many world concerns and corporate businesses, playing, as it were, in the major league. True, it is not the all-star team in that league, but it always remains in the competition.
If only for this reason, it would be interesting to analyse the Dutch position in the war, even more so since it has adopted a rather unique position in comparison to its European neighbours.
Before the Bush administration started its actual firing on Iraqi targets, Dutch public opinion was largely anti-war, which was reflected in the general mood in talk-shows and public debates. In the mean time, elections had been held, and the central-right CDA (the largest Christian party) and the PvdA (Labor Party) both came out as winners, the CDA having a significant advantage.
This was the beginning of weeks and weeks of debates about the formation of a CDA-PvdA government, and though the negotiation of this marriage between left and right was only advancing slowly, it started to look more and more as if progress had been made. Many issues were on the agenda, as was to be expected from a potential left-right coalition, but most people were anxious about how the debate about the war would develop, since there seemed to be a strong division between the parties over this issue.
Prime minister Balkenende was very clear, from the start, about his opinion on the war. He wasnt enthusiastically applauding it, but when it seemed to become inevitable that the Anglo-American coalition was indeed going to pound Iraq with its military might, he left no uncertainties about what the Dutch position should be: political support, but no military support. In other words, a passive, but definitely pro-war attitude.
However, his leftist counterpart, Wouter Bos, was expressing quite different views. He kept pointing to the fact that the USA had no mandate to conduct this war, and that other, non-violent strategies had not been sufficiently exhausted.
Then missiles started raining down on Baghdad, and the mood suddenly changed. Instead of the expected shock and horror in Dutch public opinion, there seemed to be a short period of uncertainty, only to then sweep into a mood of compliance with US policies. The most heard argument for this case, was that We were not for this war, but now that it has started, we cannot afford to refrain from supporting the American strategy.
Within this same time frame, Wouter Bos, the voice of the left, expressed this exact same type of position, to the shock and surprise of many. In the following debates about the spin-off of this change in position, the two parties then managed to reach a consensus, namely the exact position of CDAs Balkenende. Wouter Bos had changed his position drastically, and given in to the CDAs demands.
One would expect that the leader of a party who capitulates like that during cabinet formation negotiations, would suffer heavy criticism and loss of support from his constituents. However, wednesday March 26 , when he was expected to give his explanation to his party members, and feared to be heavily criticized, he received a relatively mild tap on the fingers, and was otherwise received warmly as the partys valuable spokesman and leader.
The smaller left-wing parties, like Groen Links (the Green leftists) and the SP (Socialist Party) have adhered to their anti-war stance, but have voiced their opposition rather mildly, while representing only a small portion of the Dutch population.
Sympathy for the Iraqi people currently seems to be following the guidelines of Anglo-American publicity, with their position being, that the Iraqi citizens need to be liberated from the dictatorial regime of Saddam Hussein, and that they should welcome the incoming missiles as tools that will put an end to years of oppression.
Apparently, many Dutch people feel comfortable under the umbrella of Balkenendes mantra of political, but no military support for the war on Iraq . This position, and its analogous reflection in the political field, has led to a situation where the Netherlands are politically isolated, being surrounded by countries that are against this war, at least in their statements, namely Belgium and Germany, with Belgium bordering to the south on France, where over 90% of public opinion is firmly anti-war.
It is not only for moral reasons, that making the choice of following the USA in its sweep at world hegemony will most likely prove to be an unwise decision. One might choose to disregard the fact that it is not totally clear whether there is, indeed, no Dutch military involvement, considering the fact that US general Franks appeared on CNN with commanders from England, Australia, Denmark and the Netherlands in a recent press conference, thanking them for their cooperation. Still it is regrettable, both from an economic and political point of view, that the Dutch have chosen to isolate themselves from a large portion of the European mainland by adopting this position.
In fact, the attitude of the Dutch strangely mirrors that of the governments of the Arab nations, who are for stopping this war, but generally against actual involvement of their governments. One could call this political but no military opposition.
There is, therefore, from a humanitarian point of view, ample reason to be disappointed with Wouter Bos. However, there seems to be equally sufficient evidence that his political capitulation is applauded, if not tolerated, by the majority of the Dutch population. Apparently, his eagerness to stay within the future coalition overruled his previous moralisations about the war that the USA was about to launch upon the nation of Iraq.
I suppose it is quite easy, to give the green light to firepower directed upon an entire country, as long as it is not your country, and as long as it is not your finger that is pulling the trigger. But perhaps we should all ask ourselves: what would it be like, if all this firepower was directed at our homes?
Some may find relief from the US propagated notion that they are only firing at targets, not at people. Dont you sometimes wonder what they mean, when they talk about hitting Iraqi targets? All you have to do is look around you, at the room you are sitting in: this is exactly what targets look like, only they are situated in the Middle East, and the man or woman sitting on the equivalent of your chair, is most probably an Arab.
www.arabia.com