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Initial sources:
Stunning warning issued by Dutch central bank: "If the entire system collapses, gold will be needed to start over" -- Sott.net
DNB’s gold stock
DNB Cash Centre
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Background publications indicating changing views and moods:
“America is not America anymore” say Dutch diplomats on U.S. relations: Report
Washington is an 'absolute mess' under Trump, says former Dutch ambassador - DutchNews.nl
Sources in Dutch:
De bekoelde relatie tussen Nederland en de Verenigde Staten: 'Amerika is Amerika niet meer'
‘Rutte zei: Donald, kijk eens wat je hebt bereikt’
Vanwaar toch die nauwe banden tussen Washington en Oekraïne?
Hunter Biden, de uitverkorene die niet uitverkoren had moeten zijn
Stunning warning issued by Dutch central bank: "If the entire system collapses, gold will be needed to start over" -- Sott.net
DNB’s gold stock
DNB Cash Centre
Reserve management
Background publications indicating changing views and moods:
“America is not America anymore” say Dutch diplomats on U.S. relations: Report
“America is not America anymore” say Dutch diplomats on U.S. relations: Report
By Janene Pieters on October 14, 2019 - 16:30
Mark Rutte and Donald Trump. (Photo: The White House/Flickr)
The relationship between the Netherlands and the United States has "cooled down" and "soured" according to Dutch diplomats and diplomatic experts. "There is declining confidence, I hear at the top of Dutch diplomacy", diplomatic expert Robert van de Roer said to RTL Nieuws. "Behind the scenes you hear: America is not America anymore."
The harsh sentiment about the state of affairs between the nations following the inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump was echoed by Henne Schuwer, the recently retired Ambassador of the Netherlands to the United States. Schuwer told newspaper NRC that it has been an "absolute mess" in Washington D.C. since January 2017.
The fact that the relationship is no longer smooth sailing, can be seen in rejected requests for aid. Until recently the Netherlands tended to agree to whatever the US asked, according to the broadcaster. But now the Netherlands basically refused two US requests - for military support on the ground in Syria, and on the Strait of Hormuz.
The situation is even more serious than it appears from the outside. "Prime Minister Rutte insists that world problems cannot be solved without the US. Behind the scenes, everyone wonders if America can still be counted upon", one diplomatic source said to RTL.
On the American side of the relationship, problems stem from the US being frustrated at the Netherlands for "not delivering enough", according to Van de Roer. The Netherlands does not fulfill NATO's obligation of spending 2 percent of its gross domestic product on Defense, something Prime Minster Mark Rutte also acknowledged in a speech early this month.
On the Dutch side of the relationship, the problems are more multifaceted. One issue is Donald Trump's behavior on Twitter. Constant tweets from the president resemble decisions and policy changes. But when the Netherlands does what it always does - ask for clarification from the US Department of State or the Department of Defense - the American government workers are just as surprised by the tweets as their Dutch counterparts.
"You turn on your phone at half past six in the morning and look at Trump's Twitter timeline. All colleagues do that," former ambassador Schuwer said. "Now everything is managed from the White House."
The United States withdrawing from treaties also plays a role. America withdrew from the Paris Climate Agreement, and withdrew support for the so-called Iran nuclear deal. The latter causing tensions in the region, including in the Strait of Hormuz where the Americans now want the Netherlands to help maintain order. The US military withdrawal from northern Syria last week, which was immediately followed by Turkey attacking the Kurdish forces in the area, also "raises doubts about the reliability of the US", Van de Roer said.
Dutch dissatisfaction is a "combination of style and content", according to Van de Roerr. He points to the ignored requests for help in Syria, demands that American ambassador to the Netherlands Pete Hoekstra made in the Volkskrant. In the past, such requests would be made following months of diplomatic talks, and only if the Netherlands actually agreed to it.
Hoekstra's requests were not outright denied - the involved Ministries are "studying" the requests. And instead of sending troops to Syria, the Netherlands wants to make an extra contribution to the mission in Iraq, for example with a small expansion or with medical support. Because despite the increased tensions, the relationship with America is very important, insiders, experts and parliamentarians said to RTL. "We must have a close relationship with the US, which is essential for our security, regardless of which president is in office and whether he is likable or you always agree with him", VVD MP Sven Koopmans said.
One result of the situation is that the Netherlands has turned more towards state and local governments in the U.S. "If we can't talk about the environment with the Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, and we can't, we'll work with California or Oregon. So the influence and importance of Washington and a president who is so extreme on some points is diminishing," Schuwer told NRC. "You can see that the states are becoming increasingly independent."
Washington is an 'absolute mess' under Trump, says former Dutch ambassador - DutchNews.nl
Washington is an ‘absolute mess’ under Trump, says former Dutch ambassador
October 13, 2019
Former ambassador Henne Schuwer Photo: Security and Defence Agenda via Flickr
The former Dutch ambassador to the US has given an interview to the NRC in which he describes the ‘absolute mess’ in Washington under the presidency of Donald Trump.
Henne Schuwer, who retired this summer, was appointed to the US job in 2015 and told the paper that Trump is ‘sawing away’ at the fundamentals of society.
‘Of course he has done good things. More money is going to Nato and he has reformed the 1986 tax system,’ said Schuwer. ‘But he has done nothing, absolutely nothing to become president of all Americans. Only that of his own supporters. And that is why the country has been completely torn apart.’
This interview with former Dutch ambassador to US Henne Schuwer, published in Dutch newspaper @nrc , paints absolutely disastrous picture of WH and way (allied) countries deal with it. Hope they translate it. #thread ‘Rutte zei: Donald, kijk eens wat je hebt bereikt’ —as Ⓜudde (@CasMudde) October 12, 2019
Since Trump’s election, said Schuwer, it is an ‘absolute mess’ in Washington, with Trump sidelining State Department officials who worked with diplomats. Ambassadors now start their day by scrolling through Trump’s morning tweets, Schuwer said. ‘Now everything is led from the White House.’
As a consequence, he said, ‘we have started focusing more on the states. If we can’t talk about the environment with the Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, and we can’t, then we talk to California or Oregon. So the influence of a president who is so extreme in some areas is becoming less.
Schuwer also spoke about the two visits made to Washington by Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte.
The first, in July 2018, went well, he says, with Trump saying ‘I like this guy’ after the meeting. ‘Rutte did not let Trump walk over him and he did say “no”. Before the meeting, Rutte said that “if we do not corrects the facts that don’t add up, then they will become true”.’ Rutte’s subsequent ‘no’, when Trump said that EU US trade talks would be positive even if there was no outcome, went around the world.
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In order to highlight the importance of the Netherlands to the US, the embassy created a plasticized A4 of facts – with icons – which Rutte slid over the table to Trump ahead of their talks.
‘It contained facts about how many jobs are created in the US thanks to Dutch investments,’ the former diplomat said. ‘We put €300bn into the US. That is an interesting amount. Trump was impressed.’
Leaks
Asked about the leak of critical comments about Trump made by British ambassador Kim Darroch earlier this year, Schuwer said he had ‘concluded they don’t read Dutch that well’.
Darroch resigned after the Mail on Sunday published extracts from the memos, in which he described Donald Trump’s administration as ‘clumsy and inept’.
‘After the row we talked about our way of reporting to The Hague,’ Schuwer said. ‘We think the home front has a right to our analysis, particularly if the president’s behaviour is influencing bilateral relationships.’
‘As a diplomat you give a summary of events and your own comments. But I said we are not going to get personal. I am not going to say the man is an idiot.’
Sources in Dutch:
De bekoelde relatie tussen Nederland en de Verenigde Staten: 'Amerika is Amerika niet meer'
‘Rutte zei: Donald, kijk eens wat je hebt bereikt’
Vanwaar toch die nauwe banden tussen Washington en Oekraïne?
Hunter Biden, de uitverkorene die niet uitverkoren had moeten zijn