Voice from the Commonwealth Commentary, World Views and Occasional Rants from a small 'l' libertarian in Massachussetts
"If ye love wealth greater than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest for freedom, go home and leave us in peace. We seek not your council nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen." - Samuel Adams
.
Praise for Voice
"A smart fellow...I do like, recommend and learn from Barbera's blog." -Roger L. Simon
"Your blog is bullshit"- anonymous angry French reader.
But, Mr Balkenende explained, in view of the "prevailing mood among the public and within parliament, the Netherlands will take no active part in the war".
"We are left with no other conclusion than that Saddam has so far failed to comply with resolution 1441. And it logically follows from resolution 1441 that the time for serious consequences has come. Besides, the Iraq-question has been going on for a very long time. Twelve years ago, the United Nations first called on Saddam to disarm, and within those twelve years the Security Council adopted no fewer than 17 resolutions urging Saddam to meet the wish of the international community. None of those resolutions were heeded."
"Unfortunately within the Security Council, there is no broad-based support for military action against Saddam. And on a national level, there is no broad-based support for active Dutch military support for any operation against Saddam. I'm talking here about the general mood among the public as well as backing from parliament. In short: the cabinet has therefore decided to politically support a possible action against Iraq but it will not give military assistance."
Despite this, the Netherlands will continue lending defensive assistance to Turkey, where Dutch Patriot air-defence systems have been deployed to intercept possible incoming Iraqi Scud-missiles.
The Western Civilization and Democracy Net Ring celebrates Western civilization and its universal values of individual freedom, political democracy and equal rights for all. All sites promoting human rights and democracy are welcome.
