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Nato repeats request for Holland to staySaturday 20 February 2010 Nato on Saturday repeated its request that the Netherlands stay longer in Afghanistan despite the government's collapse, news agency ANP reports. A spokesman for secretary general Anders Rasmussen said that Nato recognised that the issue was the subject of discussion in the Netherlands and did not wish to get involved. 'But the secretary general still considers that the best way forward for a smaller Dutch presence is a provincial reconstruction team in Uruzgan,' the spokesman said. And he stressed that the people of Afghanistan must remain confident that Nato will continue to protect them. Withdrawal The collapse of the government means the mission to Uruzgan, due to end in August 2010, will not be extended, in line with Bos's wishes. Caretaker governments are not supposed to take controversial decisions and it is doubtful whether there is majority parliamentary support for a continuation, albeit to train local forces. But the Dutch pull-out is likely to significantly impact on the Netherlands' reputation in international circles. According to US media reports, president Barack Obama is disappointed with the Dutch situation. He had fought hard for a temporary increase in soldiers in Afghanistan. © DutchNews.nl
NATO-USA have a lot of nerve to harrass this country like this! NO means NO! We did enough for Nato and we will not remain anymore in Afghanistan period!!!!!!!! By Sandra | February 21, 2010 10:36 AM Let's be honest. The withdrawl of Dutch troops will not affect the efforts to remove the Taliban from power. 2000 troops compared to the US contingent is a drop in the bucket. Who will feel the pain are the Afghan people who benefitted from the professionalism of the Dutch troops in security and rebuilding. At least the government can reduce military spending next year. Regardless of what happens, thank you to the troops for trying to bring stability to Afghanistan, something they've missed for 30 years. Now, you can all return to your America bashing.... By DH | February 21, 2010 9:55 PM Well done to the Netherlands. The war is illegal and the sooner Dutch troops are home the better. By Gary | February 21, 2010 11:54 PM Is NATO obsolete? By dromo | February 22, 2010 7:21 AM
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Nato exist to defend Dutch democracy. Why then does it not RESPECT Dutch democracy? How did it ever allow itself to make requests (staying on in Uruzgan) when it knew that this had already been voted down in parliament. This way Nato IS actually meddling in the Netherlands democracy. It had been given 2 years notice the the Dutch soldiers were to leave Uruzgan!
By Peter van Leeuwen | February 21, 2010 7:12 AM