US general claims gays weakened Dutch army
An accusation that having openly gay soldiers in the Dutch army led to the massacre of 8000 Bosnian Muslim boys and men has caused outrage in the USA and The Netherlands.
Retired General John Sheehan
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The accusation has been made by retired general John Sheehan, a former NATO commander who was appearing before a US Senate Armed Services Committee hearing. Sheehan claims the Dutch forces, who were ill-equipped by NATO to defend the Bosnians from the Serbian advance on Srebrenica in 1995, had lost their fighting spirit due to having openly gay soldiers amongst their ranks. Sheehan, an opponent of gays and lesbians serving in the US military, says he was told by a Dutch military leader about the problem.
The Dutch military, including the man who was apparently fingered as the source of Sheehan's accusation, has angrily dismissed the claims as "nonsense." US Democratic senator Carl Levin, a member of the Armed Services Committee, dismissed Sheehan's claims as "off target."
