John J. Sheehan

Former NATO commander and marine John J. Sheehan has said that the Dutch army failed to prevent a massacre during the Bosnian war partly because the army had gay soldiers. He made the comments during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing.

During the war the Dutch soldiers were unable to hold off the Serbian army which led to the massacre of Bosnian Muslims.

Sheehan stated that the Dutch allowed soldiers to belong to unions as well as allowing openly gay soldiers. Sheehan said:
"The Dutch army allowed homosexuals and you know what happened there."

Committee Chair, Carl Levin, asked Sheehan whether the Dutch military blamed the presence of gay soldiers. Sheehan responded by saying that they "included that as part of the problem".

The Dutch ambassador in the US, Renée Jones-Bos, said:
"I am proud of the fact that gays and lesbians have openly served in the Dutch military for decades, just like they are doing now in Afghanistan."