Dutch war against ISIL
September 2014
On 24 September 2014, the Dutch government decided to take part in “the military campaign” against ISIL (referred to as 'ISIS' in Netherlands). Some Dutch claimed that they had been started by the United States with the US military operations in Iraq against ISIL (since 8 August 2014) and the US-led military operations in Syria against ISIL (since 22 September 2014).[1][2][3]
Motivation, purposes, strategy
The reasons for the Netherlands to join that war on ISIL were:[3]
- ISIL’s advance in Iraq and Syria, while displaying “unprecedented violence” and “perpetrating terrible crimes against population groups”, formed “a direct threat for that region”;
- ISIL’s advance in Iraq and Syria “causes instability at the borders of Europe” which threatens “our own [Dutch] safety”.
The purposes of that war of the US together with the Netherlands and other partners – not specified except for France – the Dutch government described as:[3]
- “stopping the advance of ISIL” in Syria and Iraq, where ISIL purportedly had conquered terrain in recent months, and
- “breaking the military force of ISIL”.
The strategy to pursue those goals was described by the Dutch government as: directly air-attacking ISIL in Syria and Iraq, and air-supporting Iraqi and Iraqi-Kurdish forces that were combating ISIL on the ground.[3]
The Dutch contribution to that strategy was to consist of six F-16 fighter jets executing air attacks on tactical locations of ISIL in Iraq such as camps and command and control installations, for a maximum period of one year, coordinated by the American Central Command (CENTCOM) and the Joint Forces Air Component Command in Kuwait.[3]
(International) legal justifications
The Dutch government named as their international legal justification for these Dutch war actions in Iraq: the request for military support from the Iraqi government as presented to the United Nations on 25 June 2014 and repeated on 20 September.[3]
The Dutch mentioned that the United States had, in addition, appealed to the right of collective self-defense to justify US air attacks on ISIL in Syria to prevent an alleged immediately imminent armed attack from ISIL in Syria on Iraq; the Dutch stated that they were still in doubt as to whether that right, claimed by the US, held ground here, but apparently tacitly consented to their ally US thus extending their allied war on ISIL to Syria.[3]
All parties in the Dutch Parliament (150 seats), except two, supported this war: the opposition came from the Socialist Party (15 seats) and the Party for the Animals (2 seats).[4]
Operational details
The Dutch F-16 fighter jets, executing air attacks on tactical locations of ISIL in Iraq since October 2014, are being coordinated by the American Central Command (CENTCOM) and the Joint Forces Air Component Command in Kuwait.[3] The Dutch forces operate from Shaheed Mwaffaq Air Base in Jordan.[5]
On average, Dutch F-16's conduct one or two sorties per day.[6] By 17 November 2014, Dutch F-16's had dropped 75 bombs on ISIL targets in Iraq.[6]
December 2014
The first update to the official Dutch purposes and plans concerning their allied war on ISIL was sent in a new letter from the government to Parliament on 15 December 2014.[7]
Evaluation of purposes and strategy
The December 2014 letter gave no information on whether ISIL’s “military force” had in any degree been “broken” since September, and gave only two terse bits of information on activity or advance of ISIL: it asserted that “the Syrian moderate opposition” in Aleppo “suffered from ISIL activity” without further explanation; and it stated correctly that in Kobanî, ISIL was battling with Syrian Kurds.[7]
In the ensuing questions from the Dutch Parliament to the government, no specific questions were being asked as to whether or not the two purposes stated in September 2014 had been achieved or neared.[8]
Expanded strategy
The purposes of the Dutch war against ISIL in an alleged international coalition, now consisting of “more than 60 countries” that were said to have convened on 3 December 2014 in Brussels, were still as described in September 2014: stopping ISIL’s advance and breaking ISIL’s military force.[7]
But the strategy was said to have expanded, and to consist now not only in directly attacking ISIL and militarily supporting the Iraqi army and the Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga, but
also to include (unspecified) military support to “the moderate Syrian opposition”.[7] Answers from the Dutch government given in February 2015 made clear that, for the Dutch, ‘moderate Syrian opposition’ meant only some (not all) groups that are part of the Free Syrian Army (FSA).[9]
The Dutch contribution to those purposes was the same as in September: F-16’s air attacks in Iraq destroying ISIL headquarters, storage depots, factories of improvised explosive devices (IED’s), vehicles and warriors.[7]
International legal justification
While no new statements were made about legal justification for their coalition’s military support to so-called “moderate Syrian opposition”, presumably that justification was still a presumed right of collective self-defense (see September 2014) to prevent an immediately imminent armed attack from ISIL in Syria on Iraq.[3][7]
June 2015
In June 2015, the Netherlands decided to continue their participation in this allied war against ISIL until October 2016.[10]
The score: until June 2015, 575 Dutch airstrikes had been carried out in Iraq, in 1000 sorties in over 475 missions.[11]
January 2016
On 29 January 2016, the Netherlands decided to intensify the Dutch contribution to the fight against ISIL with bombings in Syria.[12][13]
Military, this encompassed:[12][14]
- supplying non-lethal support to the Iraqi forces and to the Iraqi Peshmerga forces;
- arming the Iraqi Peshmerga forces;
- air attacks in Syria on strategic ISIL targets on the supply lines of ISIL from eastern Syria into Iraq – but avoiding air attacks that would benefit the Syrian Assad government.
The air attacks would be performed by the same F-16 squadron already acting in Iraq.[13]
This time the opposition in the Dutch Parliament (150 seats) was larger than it was in September 2014. Opposed to this intensification of the fight against ISIL were the Socialist Party (15 seats), GroenLinks (green-left) (4 seats), Partij voor de Dieren (Party for the Animals) (2 seats), Group Kuzu/Öztürk (2 seats) and representative Norbert Klein.[15]
References
- ↑ "Which Countries Are Doing What in the ISIS Coalition?". NBC News. 26 September 2014. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
- ↑ "Nederland levert F-16's aan de internationale strijd tegen ISIS". Rijksoverheid. 24 September 2014. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Letter of the Dutch government to Parliament, 24 September 2014: “Fight against international terrorism” (Kamerstuk 27925 nr. 506). Retrieved 17 March 2016.
- ↑ ‘Tweede Kamer stemt in met IS-missie Irak’. Nu.nl, 2 October 2014. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
- ↑ "Belgian and RNLAF F-16s Go Dutch Supporting Iraqi Forces". Aviation Week. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
- 1 2 ‘F-16’s werpen 75 bommen af boven Iraq’. NOS.nl, 17 November 2014. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Letter of the Dutch government to Parliament, 15 December 2014: “Fight against international terrorism” (Kamerstuk 27925 nr. 526). Retrieved 17 March 2016.
- ↑ Questions from Parliament, answers from government. 4 February 2015: “Fight against international terrorism” (Kamerstuk 27925 nr. 527). Retrieved 21 March 2016.
- ↑ Questions from Parliament, answers from government. 4 February 2015: “Fight against international terrorism” (Kamerstuk 27925 nr. 527). (Question 22.) Retrieved 21 March 2016.
- ↑ Letter of the Dutch government to Parliament, 19 June 2015: “Fight against international terrorism” (Kamerstuk 27925 nr. 539). Retrieved 24 March 2016.
- ↑ "Dutch Vipers: 1,000 sorties over Iraq". Airheads Fly. 23 June 2015. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
- 1 2 Letter of the Dutch government to Parliament, 29 January 2016: “Fight against international terrorism” (Kamerstuk 27925 nr. 570). Retrieved 24 March 2016.
- 1 2 "Nederland gaat IS ook in Syrië bombarderen". nos.nl. 29 January 2016.
- ↑ "Dutch to Join US-Led Airstrikes Against IS in Syria". ABC News. 29 January 2016. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
- ↑ ‘Steun voor inzet F-16’s tegen IS in Oost-Syrië’. Website Tweede Kamer (Dutch Parliament), 10 February 2016. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
