Sign here, please

Pieter reports on a survey showing a lot of anti-Americanism in the Netherlands. Sered rightly adds to this the poll isn't so much about America, but a reflection of years (if not decades) of biased reporting against the USA and, of late, George W. Bush.

Which makes the following all the more important, because the fine fleur of Dutch journalism has no intention of slowing down in its glorious march towards a better, America-free world. Only a few minutes ago Dutch PBS radio aired an item about the memorial service for the 60th anniversary of V-E Day at Margraten Cemetery tomorrow. They interviewed a WWII vet who is opposed to the very existence of Margraten Cemetery, stating that the US government should have brought the remains home.

Now, the veteran is very much entitled to his opinion, and it has made me curious about how these cemeteries came into being in the first place. But in the past few weeks various American families have spoken out in the Dutch press on the same issue (makes you wonder why it is brought up so often, but anyway). All of them so far told about having had the opportunity of shipping the remains home. And all of them have chosen instead to let their son sleep in the soil of the country in which he died. Hardly a clear-cut issue, although a cynic might say it would suit Dutch PBS not to have any reminders of American sacrifice within our borders.

It is a typical journalist tactic to interview someone who wants to say precisely those things you don't dare to, or can't back up. It's one of the reasons good magazines such as The Economist or Elsevier (disclaimer: I am hugely biased concerning the latter since I write for them) use quotes sparsely. This policy gives a reporter less room to hide behind other people's reputations, and it forces him to do his research, since he can't blame what he wrote on a third party any longer.

So it's a very interesting editorial angle indeed to bring up this issue only hours before Bush arrives in the Netherlands. Maybe Dutch PBS can start collecting signatures to ship all 8,301 Margraten coffins back to the States in order to prevent another American president from landing here in the future. Or even better: they could interview someone who wants to begin collecting signatures. If they start now, they may succeed in having Margraten removed just in time for the 70th anniversary of V-E Day.

7:22

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