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Vrijsen, Eric
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4 articles of this author have been cited in the European Press Review so far.
Netherlands must attack ground targets
The Dutch government has refused to deploy its F-16 fighter jets against the Gaddafi regimes' strategic posts. The right-wing conservative news magazine Elsevier criticises the decision and calls for more commitment: "According to military theory, every dictator falls once his regime's mainstays are attacked. These may be military headquarters, oil refineries, government buildings or broadcasting towers. In this context the Nato operations must be expanded to encompass ground targets. The British, French and Americans are already doing this. The Danish, Norwegians and even the Belgians are helping them. But the six Dutch F-16s are not allowed to attack ground targets. ... It makes little sense to send aircraft that only pretend to take part in the mission. This demand is not fired by a passion for warfare but in favour of a mission aimed at preventing prolonged bloodshed."
» full article (external link, Dutch)
More from the press review on the subject » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Netherlands, » Libya
No such thing as complete safety
It's understandable to seek to minimise risk by banning air traffic, but security cannot always be the top priority, writes the conservative news magazine Elsevier: "As far as safety goes, the aviation industry is the leader. That only stands to reason, because an aircraft can easily set you back 200 million euros. ... Caution is a valuable commodity, fully justified by economic considerations. But you can never have absolute safety. The European aeronautical authorities must dare to call the shots right as far as safe flight is concerned. Let's assume the volcano on Iceland with the unpronounceable name Eyjafjallajökull acts up for half a year. Clearly then the risks must be recalculated, because the social damages from an absolute flight ban will be enormous. Air transport is to the modern economy what prayer is to the Vatican. For that reason the taboo on air transport must quickly be modified."
» full article (external link, Dutch)
More from the press review on the subject » Corporations, » Economic Policy, » Europe
What concessions must the Allies make in Afghanistan?
The conservative-liberal weekly Elsevier is sceptical about the new US strategy to be presented at the international Afghanistan conference in The Hague: "What worked in Iraq - more American troops and cooperation with radical Muslim groups that had had enough of al-Qaeda - won't necessarily work in Afghanistan. Afghanistan is a desert mosaic of fundamentalist, criminal and half-educated warlords. Every one of them hates the 'democratic' and corrupt regime in Kabul. Afghanistan is in many respects a failed state. The Russians, and since 2001 the Americans have tried in vain to bombard the country from its state of feudalism into modern times. … But this inevitably raises the question of what concessions the Allies would have to make. That schools for girls are closed down again? That heroine production is allowed to continue? That farmers' sons are forced to serve in the militia? Deals with the Taliban threaten to undermine the West's credibility."
» full article (external link, Dutch)
More from the press review on the subject » Security Policy / Crises / War, » Asia, » Global
Rotterdam wants Gaza as partner city
The left-wing parties in Rotterdam want the city of Gaza in the Palestinian territories as a partner city. The political weekly Elsevier writes that this is a shameless demonstration of support for the radical Islamic Palestinian group Hamas: "The socialist politician Anja Meulenbelt proposed the idea of establishing a relationship with the Hamas regime in the Gaza Strip. The United Nations and the European Union define Hamas as a terrorist organisation, but according to Meulenbelt, who was immediately backed by the other left-wing parties, Israel is to blame for the violence. Regardless of the terrorist attacks, in her opinion the important thing is to bring Hamas out of its current isolation. And Rotterdam must help to achieve this. One can only hope that Liège, Turin, Lille, Cologne, Esch-sur-Alzette and Baltimore soon break off their relations with Rotterdam because peaceful democrats want to have nothing to do with a city like this."
» full article (external link, Dutch)
More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Architecture / Cities, » Netherlands, » Middle East
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