Giving its response to an official inquiry branding the Iraq war illegal, the Dutch cabinet admits it gave parliament too little information ahead of the 2003 conflict. Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende said there had been a failure in communication.

The cabinet confirmed a US request for military assistance about which parliament had never been told. It did, however argue, it was not "legally obliged" to report this to the Lower House. But the reaction went on to say "it would have been wise if it had at least been mentioned in confidence".

The official reaction to the Dutch Committee of Inquiry on Iraq, which published its findings on 12 January, came after long and complex negotiations within the three party cabinet coalition.

Illegal war
The Davids inquiry was launched at the request of parliament, where a majority doubted whether the Dutch participation in the coalition attack on the Saddam Hussein's regime was legal in terms of international law.

Headed by retired Supreme Court judge Willibrord Davids, the inquiry pulled no punches in its findings, saying that the UN resolutions passed ahead of the war were not sufficient to give the military action a legal mandate. In other words the inquiry ruled the war to have been illegal.

It is not immediately clear how parliament will respond to the cabinet's official reaction.

Rift healed
The Dutch government had to resort to an extraordinary meeting on Tuesday morning to reach agreement on its response. Immediately after the report was presented on 12 January, Prime Minister Balkenende sought to distance himself from the assertion that there was no legal mandate for the war. This led to major tensions in the three-party coalition.

Two of the current government parties were in opposition in 2003 and were against Dutch involvement in fighting in Iraq, and they threatened to bring down the cabinet unless Mr Balkenende toned down his initial reaction.

Intelligence not passed on
The inquiry also found that information from the Dutch intelligence services and from legal advisors casting doubts on the legality of an armed attack on Saddam Hussein's regime, had not reached the ministers.

The decision to join the Anglo-American coalition was apparently taken as early as February 2002, without the involvement of Prime Minister Balkenende. In the end the Dutch gave political support to the war in Iraq but did not participate militarily.

© Radio Netherlands Worldwide