The Dutch troops deployed in Iraq had a very different relationship with the locals than did the Americans, but American heavy-handedness ended up negatively affecting the Dutch mission.

Radio Netherlands: Stay friendly, get tough or get out?

The position of the Dutch troops stationed in southern Iraq is becoming more precarious. According to Defence Minister Henk Kamp and military personnel on the ground, the atmosphere among the local Shiite population has grown noticeably worse over recent weeks - a direct consequence of the US military campaign in the Shiite holy city of Najaf, which lies just north of the "Dutch" province of al-Muthanna. The regional authorities are also said to be less cooperative than before. Meanwhile, a perceptible increase in the level of popular support for radical Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr and his armed militia forces has also been reported.

A consequence of all these factors is that the cautious and friendly attitude of the Dutch troops in al-Muthanna province appears to be meeting an ever more unappreciative audience, while the number of attacks targeting the Netherlands' military forces in the area is showing a similarly rapid growth. The low point came just last Saturday with the death of a 29-year-old Dutch military police sergeant in Ar Rumaythah. Back home in the Netherlands, a tiny group of concerned relatives and friends of the troops in Iraq launched a campaign on Tuesday this week which - within the space of 24 hours - engendered political reactions, promises to re-examine the security situation and possibly even recall parliament for an emergency debate on the issue.

Juan Cole has also suggested that part of the reason for the precipitous departure of the Spanish troops from Najaf in May last year was that the US demanded that the Spanish troops "get Sadr dead or alive", which the Spanish commander in Najaf understandably refused to do. Sensing that the US was going to ignite the gunpowder keg under their feet anyway, the Spanish withdrew a couple of months ahead of schedule.

Informed Comment: Thursday, March 24, 2005

El Pais is reporting the disputes between Spanish military commanders in Najaf and US officers. The Spanish officers were appalled that Gen. Rick Sanchez wanted them to call in bombing strikes on civilian targets (a frequent US tactic in urban warfare in Iraq), and refused, sending in commandos to a hospital instead. Likewise, the Spanish declined to move against the Sadr Movement for fear of massive turbulence, so the US sent in special ops forces to arrest an aide to Muqtada al-Sadr anyway. (It is just unimaginable that the US would endanger the 1200 Spanish troops in Najaf in this high-handed way. It has been alleged to me by someone who should know that Dan Senor played a key role in this move). As the Spanish predicted, the sudden and still unexplained US assault on the Sadrists produced a massive uprising that threw the South into turmoil for two months. The Spanish by that time were fed up and the new Zapatero government determined to withdraw the Spanish military. Given how high-handedly the US treated them, you cannot blame Madrid for wanting no further part of the increasing Iraq quagmire. What comes across most strongly in this report is a general European officer-class repugnance at heavy-handed US military tactics, including especially the use of aerial bombing on civilian targets where guerrillas were present.

A society committed to the notion that government is always bad will have bad government. And it doesn't have to be that way. — Paul Krugman