The Dutch Lower House is debating the Davids Commission report on the handling of the Iraq war and the Dutch involvement in the 2003 invasion.

The three parties in the coalition government have announced they will put forward a motion later on Tuesday calling for prior parliamentary scrutiny of each major military mission. Under current conditions, the government can decide on such missions at its own discretion and only has to inform parliament once the decision has been taken.

The Davids Commission inquiry caused a stir earlier this month because of its conclusion that the cabinet had failed to inform parliament about the steps leading to Dutch political support for the 2003 invasion of Iraq by an Anglo-American coalition.

The opposition Freedom Party led by Geert Wilders has threatened a motion of no-confidence in the government regarding its silence in the run-up to the Iraq war. The debate is expected to centre on the cabinet's official reaction, which was published last week after intensive negotiations by the three coalition parties. The cabinet admits it should have supplied more information to the Lower House about developments leading up to the Dutch declaration of political, but not military, support for the invasion.
 

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