Gays kill 8000 Muslims

Thought that would get your attention.

Not my attitude, obviously, but that of General John Sheehan, former head of NATO. This American idiot blames the Serb massacre at Srebrenica on the weakening effect of homosexuals who were permitted to join the army openly, unlike the US and trades unionists.

Following recent remarks from Robert Gates, the US defence secretary, that Europeans have gone soft and lost the will to fight, Sheehan argued that after the end of the cold war the Europeans embarked on military changes reducing the appetite for combat.

"They declared a peace dividend and made a conscious effort to socialise their military – that includes the unionisation of their militaries, it includes open homosexuality. That led to a force that was ill-equipped to go to war," he said.

"The case in point that I'm referring to is when the Dutch were required to defend Srebrenica against the Serbs. The battalion was under-strength, poorly led, and the Serbs came into town, handcuffed the soldiers to the telephone poles, marched the Muslims off, and executed them. That was the largest massacre in Europe since world war two."

He added that the Dutch chief of staff had told him that having gay soldiers at Srebrenica had sapped morale and contributed to the disaster.

"Total nonsense," said General Henk van den Breemen, the Dutch chief of staff at the time. 

Well done, Mr. Sheehan. After all, the Athenians and Spartans were deeply opposed to homosexuals in the military weren't they? (Er…no. They encouraged soldiers to take teenage male lovers as a bonding and training strategy).

Srebrenica was a disgrace and a lasting stain on the Dutch military, who did indeed remain passive while Serbs murdered thousands of people - but it wasn't because they were doing each other's makeup, dancing to Erasure or passing composite motions on solidarity with Cuba.

Gates thinks Europeans have gone soft and lost the will to fight. Seems unlikely. Perhaps Europeans have lost the will to start illegal wars and (though I see little evidence so far) to do whatever Uncle Sam wants. The natives are restless!