The situation in the southern Afghan province of Uruzgan is clearly improving although it remains ‘fragile’, defence minister Eimert Middelkoop says in Tuesday’s Nederlands Dagblad.

And when the Dutch mission to Afghanistan formally ends next year, the Netherlands will continue to be involved, the minister said. The Netherlands has some 1,200 troops in the region.
‘The Netherlands will remain in Nato and will acknowledge and take its responsibilities… if that is done using military or civilian means remains to be seen,’ the minister said.
Meanwhile, the head of the Dutch armed forces, commander Peter van Uhm said on Monday claims that the Taliban is winning in Afghanistan are nonsense. And in Uruzgan, where Dutch troops are based, the situation is ‘relatively peaceful’, Elsevier quoted Van Uhm as saying.
US general Stanley McChrystal was paraphrased by the Wall Street Journal last week as saying that the Taliban currently holds the winning hand.