Weather
Monday: Between 2º and 5º with light snow or sleet. Around zero at night. Similar Tuesday
|
||||
| Home | | | Opinion | | | Features | | | International | | | In Dutch | | | Dictionary | | | What's On | | | Jobs | | | Housing | | | Expats | | | Blogs | | | Books |
|
Weather
Monday: Between 2º and 5º with light snow or sleet. Around zero at night. Similar Tuesday
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Pressure on Dutch to stay in Uruzgan (update)Wednesday 02 December 2009 Pressure is mounting on the Netherlands to keep its troops in Afghanistan past next year's deadline following US president Barak Obama's decision to send an extra 30,000 soldiers to the country. The Telegraaf reports that US secretary of state Hillary Clinton phoned Dutch foreign minister Maxime Verhagen last week urging him to keep Dutch soldiers in the region. Sources close to the cabinet told the paper Clinton found it ironic that the Dutch are on the point of withdrawal at the same time as the US is poised to adopt the Dutch approach. The Dutch policy in Afghanistan, which focuses on building bridges with the local community, has been widely praised. Verhagen, who is in Athens, declined to give any details of the conversation, the paper said. The Netherlands is set to withdraw its 2,000 soldiers and support staff from the southern region of Uruzgan from next August and a majority of MPs is opposed to any further delay. NOS tv reports that Dutch defense minister Eimert van Middelkoop has also been in conversation with US under secretary for defence Michèle Flournoy while Peter van Uhm, the Netherlands's head of the armed forces, has been phoned by Michael Mullen, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. The broadcaster says both Verhagen and Middelkoop are looking at the options for extending the Dutch role in the region. In October, a motion opposing an extension by the Labour and ChristenUnie parties - both of which are part of the current cabinet - won majority support in parliament. Ministers have yet to comment on the vote, the Nos points out. Britain and Italy have already said they will send more troops to Afghanistan and Germany will decide after a conference in London at the end of January, the BBC reports. Labour MP Martijn van Dam said on Wednesday his party was still opposed to any extension. 'We think it is other people's turn,' he told Radio 1. The former chief of the Dutch armed forces Dick Berlijn told the Volkskrant he would be 'very, very, very unhappy' if the Netherlands pulled out. 'It woud be a very bad signal if the Netherlands is the only country to say 'we know what has to happen but we are not joining in,' the paper quoted him as saying. © DutchNews.nl
Honestly - what's army has to do anyway? Well, will do some manouvers, some tactical trainings, sit in bases and march in evenings. Isnt that the point of being a soldier, to take part in military actions against some kind of enemies? Or anyone expects WW2 reloaded? On the other hand. I agree with anyone who says that this is botomless war. There is no win, unless you do some nuke. Come on, mountains, people who live the same way for thousands of years. Better give some 30 billion USD to Afgan companies, build there everything possible, give them playgrounds and schools and shopping malls, and they will turn off all crazy islamist movement as nothing. Learn from Soviet, please someone read the history. By Jon | December 2, 2009 3:34 PM Be realistic Sandra. In the real world, countries need to work together collectively to protect the greater good of humanity. That's how it worked in WWII and it's why the Netherlands is a free country today! By Kerry | December 2, 2009 3:51 PM When NATO was established we did not have much power and we insisted to insert article 5, which states that an attack against one shall be considered an attack against all members. Now we do have power and want to forget about article 5? That is not what the Netherlands stands for, I hope. By Ben | December 2, 2009 5:44 PM And I strongly believe that dutch must send whole army to fight Alkaida in Afghanistan as well with general and a chief comander Mr. Wilders! By Michael | December 2, 2009 7:42 PM Sandra, you must not be old enough to remember, so I'll ask you now, what of Nederland if not for the Amerikanen during World War II. By Jaap Landseer | December 2, 2009 11:00 PM Nobody asked for this war, it came to us all. The Netherlands has to do its part just as the US stepped in to help the Netherlands during WWII and after when it helped to rebuild its war-torn economy. By Buzzer | December 2, 2009 11:12 PM Bush made this mess when he he pulled troops to go into Iraq. Let America pay the price for the mess they made of it, not the Dutch. By Bernard | December 3, 2009 3:00 AM The Dutch need the war in Afghanistan. If you believe the rumors about Dutch soldiers refusing to burn the poppy fields and smuggling hashish back to NL, the Dutch need the soldiers there to keep the drug traffic in NL and the rest of the world thriving. By Tim | December 4, 2009 2:21 AM Jaap, good for you! This is not an issue of whether or not the Dutch should have troops in Afghanistan. The very article 5 (Ben) that the Dutch insisted NATO adopt means that the Dutch have no choice but to send troops - whether the war is right or wrong. I am an American who lived in NL for three years, and I think the was in Afghanistan is a joke. Because of the terrain and the will of the people, this is a war that cannot be won without wiping out a large part of the population of Afghanistan. That makes NO sense when we're only looking for a small number of people. Speaking as an American who DISAGREES with the war in Afghanistan, I have a question for Sandra and Bernard. What part of Europe are you from? The part whose ass we saved or the part whose ass we kicked? You might want to think about that. By Tim | December 4, 2009 2:28 AM Yes, let the others do the dirty work again......NO. Two of my sons are in the military; one has already done a tour in Afghanistan. By Kees | January 8, 2010 5:26 PM
Comments have been closed for this article. |
| Newsletter | | | RSS | | | Advertising | | | Business services | | | Mobile | | | Friends | | | Contact | | | About us | | | Tell a Friend |
|
NO NO AND NO! Stop asking the Dutch to fight a war that they did not ask for!
By sandra | December 2, 2009 8:12 AM