Blaming Gay Soldiers For Srebrenica

In case you missed this: testifying before Congress on DADT, retired US general John Sheehan raised eyebrows with the following exchange:

SHEEHAN: The case in point that I’m referring to was when the Dutch were required to defend Sbrenecia against the Serbs, the battalion was understrength, poorly led. And the Serbs came into town, handcuffed the soldiers to the telephone polls, marched the Muslims off and executed them. That was the largest massacre in Europe since World War II.

LEVIN: And did the Dutch leaders tell you it was because there were gay soldiers there?

SHEEHAN: It was a combination –

LEVIN: Did they tell you that?

SHEEHAN: Yes.

The Dutch are not pleased:

"It is astonishing that a man of his stature can utter such complete nonsense," Dutch defence ministry spokesman Roger van de Wetering said in response. "The Srebrenica massacre and the involvement of UN soldiers was extensively investigated by the Netherlands, international organisations and the United Nations. Never was there in any way concluded that the sexual orientation of soldiers played a role."

And from the defense minister himself:

Eimert van Middelkoop labeled Sheehan's comments "scandalous, and unworthy of a soldier." "I have nothing more to say about it."

2006-2011 archives for The Daily Dish, featuring Andrew Sullivan