At 00:07 27-10-2002 -0500, Dan Minette wrote:
> Now *that* is reprehensible -- the idea that the Dutch would > deliberately let the Bosnians in Srebrenica be deported (the women and > children) or killed (the men).Yes, that is represensible. But, le
But... what? Unfinished sentence.
Given that Dutchbat had everything against them, I think it is extremely unlikely they could have stopped the Serbs. They were outnumbered, insufficiently trained, had the strategically bad position of being in a valley, and had hopelessly insufficient weapons -- the Serbs had more and heavier weapons than Dutchbat. Quite frankly, if they had engaged the Serbs, I think very few Dutch troops would have gotten out alive.>Why did the Dutch troops not stop them? Well, they could not do that. That is uncertain, because it wasn't tried.
Given that they had all the advantages (troops, number of weapons, firepower, strategic positions), I doubt the Serbs would have been very impressed. Given their ruthlessness, they would probably have blasted their way right through the defense within a few hours.If they had told the Serbs that they would have to go through them to get to the civilians they were protecting there is at least a chance that the Serbs would not have risked it.
Support would have been very difficult. To reach Srebrenica by land, troops would have to travel from one side of Serbian territory to the other side. That would take a long time, and could easily be delayed by the Serbs. Air support was not that easy too, because Srebrenica was the location furthest away from wherever air support was supposed to come from (which is one of the reasons why no other country wanted to send its troops there).Especially, if the threat and the stand were publicized immediately worldwide, and the government of Serbia were told that the full force of NATO was behind the Dutch. Knowing US psychology, it would have been next to impossible for Clinton to not answer a call to support the brave, outgunned, outnumbered Dutch troops who were standing willing to give their lives to protect those whom they promised protection.
True, but you hardly blame the troops for being sent into a warzone without enough training and without the needed weaponry.> The heaviest vehicle they had were light armoured personnel carriers, > the heaviest weapon they had were .50 calibre machine guns. That kind > of equipment is no match for Serbian tanks. It also did not help that > the troops were relatively small in number and had not been trained > well enough for the mission. All of which is the responsibility of the Netherlands.
Besides, the purpose of the mission was not "fight the Serbs"; the purpose was "deterrence by presence" -- the message was that if the Serbs would attack anyone, the UN would intervene.
The Serbs were not impressed...
To form such a line, you need something to form that line with. When you have ample troops and tanks at your disposal, a line that consists of a handful of soldiers and a .50 calibre machine gun does not at all look impressive. At best, it could delay the enemy's advance by a few hours.They could have done what UN troops are supposed to do: form a line that cannot be crossed without consequences.
They could have told the government of their position, and the government
And the government... what? Unfinished sentence.
I have not read the Dutch (or English) version yet. I do not have the time for it, and the Defense Dept. has not provided its personnel with free copies either (although we do get a discount for it).> But, at least now you have the chance to read the entire NIOD report on > it, free of charge. The full text (in English) is available at > http://194.134.65.21/srebrenica/. One hell of a read, though, > considering that the printed version is IIRC some 3,000 pages... That sounds like a bit. Nothing you've written contradicts the basis for my understanding. If you think that I have gotten some facts wrong that the report can point out, perhaps you can tell me about where to look in those 3000 pages...assuming you've read the Dutch version. Yes, you cannot tell me exactly where, but we should be able to narrow it down.
Jeroen "Make love, not war" van Baardwijk
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