Bijleveld back to Hawijadebat: ‘Did the minister hit the table with a fist?’ | NOW

For the fourth time, Minister Ank Bijleveld (Defense) has to answer to the House of Representatives for the lack of information about the Dutch bombing of the Iraqi city of Hawija. Thursday in the debate, Bijleveld must explain why the House has again been confronted with new information about the air attack that killed seventy people.

“We are not only debating what the Netherlands should have known before the bombing, but also the information position of the House of Representatives,” said SP MP Sadet Karabulut. “I have the feeling that the Chamber is constantly being squeezed.”

The debate was prompted by the letter to parliament at the end of March in which Bijleveld acknowledged that he had misinformed the parliament about the bombing. Contrary to the fact that she previously reported to the House, the Americans did assume that seventy civilian deaths occurred in the Dutch attack.

“How does media get information, but not Minister?”

In the Chamber debate of December last year, where the defense minister narrowly passed a vote of no confidence, Bijleveld assured the House that the civilian casualties of Hawija were not included in the statistics of the Americans. Subsequent inquiries revealed that the seventy civilian casualties did indeed count.

In addition, research from NRC Handelsblad and NOS it appeared that the Americans knew beforehand that a bombing of the IS bomb factory involved great risks.

Information gathered by the two media under the United States Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) shows that an attack on the plant was among the highest risk categories.

The Chamber would have liked to receive this information. “How can it be that media get this over the table, but the minister is unable to do so?” Karabulut wonders. She wants to know what Bijleveld has done to get this information from the Americans.

ChristenUnie finds American performance ’embarrassing’

Coalition parties VVD, D66 and CU are also irritated. André Bosman (VVD): “What pressure has the minister put on the Pentagon?” D66 member Salima Belhaj: “Did the minister hit the table with her fist? She promised to get well, so I want to know what she has done to get information that the House is asking for.” Bosman: “The Chamber must be well informed.”

Christian Union MP Joel Voordewind even calls the way in which the Americans disclose that information to the media but do not share it with the Dutch parliament as “embarrassing”.

In a technical briefing on Wednesday, Deputy Force Commander Onno Eichelsheim said that procedures and processes in the run-up to the bombing were proceeding smoothly. Eichelsheim explained that the so-called red card holder, the highest soldier who gives the green light for attacks on behalf of the Netherlands, relies, among other things, on intelligence from the American CENTCOM and the coalition from Qatar.

As far as Voordewind is concerned, information about the risks should have been shared. “General Eichelsheim said that the Netherlands would probably have taken a different decision if it was clear what the dangers were.” Also with a view to future missions in which the Netherlands can participate, it is important for him that the Netherlands as an ally is informed “better and faster” by the Americans.

“If all went well, what went wrong?”

For D66 it is important that there is more clarity about what exactly went wrong at what time. “To be able to learn,” says Behlaj. “Now we hear that everything went well through the procedures. But if everything went well, what went wrong?”

That is also the opinion of Karabulut. “I do not accept that the cabinet says that they knew nothing about civilian casualties and that they could not have known.”

She refers to reports that another international coalition country had refused to carry out the attack on Hawija. “Has the minister tried to find out which country this was and on the basis of which information did that country decide to refrain from an airstrike?”

‘New no-confidence motion not ruled out’

The SP member does not rule out a new vote of no confidence. Her opinion of Bijleveld has not changed much since the December debate. “Her performance is no good. The Chamber has been repeatedly misinformed. I no longer find her credible.”

But although coalition parties VVD, D66 and CU wonder aloud whether the CDA minister has gone after the information hard enough, Bijleveld will probably survive a new vote of no confidence.

Voordewind: “The House was misinformed with the information it had at the time. After inquiries, this was rectified. The problem is with the provision of information from the Americans.”

D66 member Belhaj: “This is the moment where she has to tell everything that is relevant. This is her chance to fully inform us.”

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