Deaths at Srebrenica Because of Gay Soldiers???

I almost don't know where to begin.  This has got to be one of the dumbest things I've ever heard.

Retired Gen. John Sheehan stated before a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing that poor morale over openly gay Dutch soldiers was partially responsible for the failure of NATO forces to prevent the city of Srebrenica from being overrun by Serbian forces in 1995.  Some 8,000 Muslim men and boys were killed in the massacre.

But to suggest that poor morale over openly gay Dutch soldiers was part of the problem is outrageous.  There are no single words that can adequately describe how stupid a statement that was.

The Dutch Chief of Staff at the time of the Srebrenica incident has called Gen. Sheehan's remarks, "total nonsense".

That's a good start, but there are so many other words for it:  stupid, idiotic, blinkered, bigoted, homophobic.  Did I mention "stupid" already?


To add to the stupid pile is the notion that Gen. Sheehan was attempting to use this lame idea as a reason to prevent homosexuals from serving openly in the U.S. military.  Even Gen. Petraeus, who is currently overseeing former President Bush's vanity wars in Iraq and Afghanistan agrees that it is time to rethink policy on gays serving in the military.

According to the BBC story, Britain, Canada, Australia, and Israel all allow gays to serve openly in their militaries.  If Gen. Sheehan thinks that a gay soldier is less tough than any other, I dare him to say that to a gay Israeli soldier's face.  I think he'd find out otherwise.

And if there is poor morale among the ranks over gay soldiers, then it's time to take a good hard look at military discipline, and get soldiers to concentrate on their duty rather than on the sexual orientation of their comrades.