[JURIST] Retired US Marine Corps General John Sheehan testified before the US Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) on Thursday that he believes the Dutch military’s inclusion of openly gay soldiers is partially responsible for the severity of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre during the Bosnian civil war. Sheehan, a former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, made the remarks during a hearing charged with evaluating the future of the US military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. He argued that the Netherlands and several other European countries reconfigured their militaries for less demanding peacekeeping roles after the fall of the Soviet Union and subsequently “made a conscious effort to socialize their military – that includes the unionization of their militaries, it includes open homosexuality.” The result, Sheehan contends, rendered their armed forces weaker and less effective. Dutch Minister of Defense Eimert van Middelkoop called the comments “utter nonsense”.
The Military Readiness Enhancement Act of 2010 was introduced in the Senate earlier this month, and would allow gay soldiers to serve openly if approved. The repeal of the controversial “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy has been an important issue for US President Barack Obama since he took office, and its inclusion in the State of Union Address makes it clear that it remains a priority for the administration. In January, legal advisers for the US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, suggested that he delay any internal efforts to repeal the policy until 2011. In October, Obama pledged to end the controversial policy. After the US Supreme Court denied certiorari to review the policy in June, the SASC announced that it would hold hearings to review it. In 2008, more than 100 retired admirals and generals of the US military called for a repeal of the policy.