The Press Association Newswire reports:
"A row has erupted in liberal Netherlands over plans to send
prostitutes to war zones to accompany Dutch troops.
'The army must consider ways its soldiers can let off steam,''
Annemarie Jorritsma, mayor of the town of Almere. 'There was
once the suggestion that a few prostitutes should accompany
troops on missions. I think that is something we should talk
about,'' she said, adding that the prostitutes would keep
soldiers from turning to local women.
The Netherlands has more than 2,000 soldiers serving abroad,
most of them in Afghanistan as part of Nato peacekeeping
force, and in Bosnia."
In reality, the plan has no support from any political party, and apparently Mrs Jorritsma has proposed it as a way of getting attention. Her party, the neo-con VVD, is not doing well in the polls. There are some problems with her proposal, including the fact that there is no budget for additional services and that as an equal rights employer the army would have to also send male prostitutes to service the needs of the women serving in the army.