January 08, 2004
BUSY AS GRAND CENTRAL STATION:
Dutch prime minister in Iraq (The Australian, January 08, 2004)
DUTCH Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende arrived in Iraq today on a surprise visit to Dutch troops stationed there, the Netherlands Government Information Service (RVD) told AFP.
"He has arrived and will pay a visit to the soldiers," RVD spokesman Gerard van der Wulp said.The visit was not announced earlier for security reasons. The Dutch have 1200 troops in southern Iraq as part of the US-led multinational force.
The snap visit is intended to boost morale among Dutch troops.
"We want to show the soldiers that we are thinking of them and that the Netherlands feels their work in Iraq is very important," Van der Wulp said.
If this whole Iraq adventure was so unilateral, why are all these national leaders doing visiting their troops there? Posted by Orrin Judd at January 8, 2004 12:43 PM
Did all these heads of state also "lie" to their press corps? Oh the shame of it.
Posted by: MG at January 8, 2004 01:24 PMBush, Blair, Aznar, Balkenende, bah. I'm waiting for Mr. Bagabandi to pay a surprise visit to the couple of hundred Mongolian troops stationed in Iraq. It'll be like 1258 all over again (only without the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of Mesopotamians this time).
Posted by: Random Lawyer at January 8, 2004 01:37 PMRandom Lawyer - brilliant.
From which horde did Mongolia dispatch their troops?
Posted by: Matt C at January 8, 2004 04:41 PMHillary has been there, but I wonder if Pelosi and Daschle feel upstaged? After all, the Dutch PM was there, and not them?
Posted by: jim hamlen at January 9, 2004 08:40 AMDidn't Hillary go to Afghanistan, not Iraq ?