Geert Wilders is a ‘golden-pompadoured, maverick’ who is ‘no friend of the US’, according to a briefing document on Dutch politics for US president Barack Obama, put together in July 2009.
The document, published by whistleblower website Wikileaks and hosted by the Guardian, was drawn up by US diplomats to brief Obama ahead of his meeting with the then prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende.
In the document, the US official states: ‘Wilders is no friend of the US: he opposes Dutch military involvement in Afghanistan; he believes development assistance is money wasted; he opposes NATO missions outside ‘allied’ territory; he is against most EU initiatives; and, most troubling, he forments fear and hatred of immigrants.’ .
Other documents which mention Wilders look at preparations to combat the effect of his anti-Koran film Fitna prior to its release in 2008.