Dutch Iraq inquiry condemns PM
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A Dutch inquiry today into the Iraq war reported that there was no mandate under international law for the Dutch government’s decision to give political support to the American-led invasion in 2003.
The investigation found that the wording of UN resolution 1441 could not “reasonably be interpreted [as the Dutch government did] as authorizing individual member states to use military force to compel Iraq to comply with the Security Council's resolutions."
The Davids Commission also found that Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende failed to show leadership in making the important decision to lend political support and that his cabinet failed to provide all necessary information to parliament.
Commission head and former president of the Dutch Supreme Court Willibrord Davids was appointed by Balkenende a year ago to explore the legal basis behind the decision to support the war. The commission was also given the task of probing allegations that the Dutch military were directly involved in the invasion, as well as investigating the exact level of Dutch military involvement since 2003.
The report states that there was “no evidence” to support allegations that the Netherlands had made a military contribution to the invasion. However in one case the report states "as part of the operation Enduring Freedom, the Dutch frigate HM Van Nes was deployed a few times as an escort for US and British ships involved in the build-up of the invasion."
Commission chief Davids this morning read the report’s conclusion only 1 hour after making the findings known to the prime minister. The under-fire head of government is yet to make a comment.
The Dutch government sent approximately 1,100 troops to Iraq in July 2003 after the initial invasion as part of a UN-mandated force to stabilise Iraq. They left in 2005.
