[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
>
> Gautam wrote:
>
> <<Jeroen:
> What I said was that we should not send our soldiers to Afghanistan to fight your
>war. I have no problem with our Intelligence Agencies working together to find the
>terrorists and bring them to justice.
>
> Jeroen
>
> Me:
> So, what happened in Afghanistan was just our war? The invocation of Article V,
>that doesn't mean anything to you? You have, on many occasions, criticized the US
>for not moving faster in Bosnia. That was clearly not
> our war. Why then do you blame us for failing to send soldiers fast enough to fight
>in what was very clearly someone else's war?
>
> Gautam>>
>
> Jeroen,
>
> I would like to point out that according to what you have now said you believe that
>The Netherlands should not fulfill their NATO treaty obligations.
>
> By your own admission: ("What I said was that we should not send our soldiers to
>Afghanistan to fight your war.") you feel that your country should not fulfill its
>obligations under the treaty.
>
A few points, as I understand them (please correct me if I'm wrong
here..)
- Article V is in regards to attacks by foreign powers
- Afghanistan did not attack us, /merely/ harboring AQ
- We're (US're) constantly claiming that the rules are different since
we weren't attacked by a foreign country
...so where's the NATO Article V responsibility?
Oh wait, I forgot - you're with us or with the terrorists.. right,
sorry.
> The treaty does not say "well, we'll do what we like when we feel like it." The
>treaty states that an attack on one country that is a member of NATO is an attack on
>all members.
>
..then the Dutch should help us fight AQ/Bin Laden/etc, NOT foreign
countries we deem to be worthy of the ole one-two punch of cruise
missles and smart bombs.
> By treaty terms, the Netherlands must do as much as any other member. Sending spies
>instead of soldiers due to political convenience is NOT acceptable according to the
>treaty.
>
Why not? Its good enough for Germany and Japan... they usually just
send cash, but this time they actually sent people.
-j-
--
"O! for a Muse of fire, that would ascend,
The brightest heaven of invention!"
