Dutch troops pull out of Afghanistan
Source: Agencies |
August 3, 2010, Tuesday
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THE Netherlands became the first NATO country to end its combat mission in Afghanistan, drawing the curtain on a four-year operation that was unpopular at home and even brought down a Dutch government.
The departure of the small force of nearly 1,900 Dutch troops is not expected to affect conditions on the ground. But it is politically significant because it comes at a time of rising casualties and growing doubts about the war in NATO capitals, even as allied troops are beginning what could be the decisive campaign of the war.
President Barack Obama has vowed to begin pulling out American troops from July 2011. But Defense Secretary Robert Gates told ABC's "This Week" broadcast on Sunday that only a small number of troops would leave in the initial stage.
The end of the Dutch mission on Sunday took place amid bad news from Afghanistan - including rising casualties and uncertainty over a strategy that relies heavily on winning Afghan public support through improved security and a better performance by Afghanistan's corrupt and ineffectual government.
July was the deadliest month of the nearly nine-year-old war for US forces with 66 deaths. US commanders have warned of more losses ahead as the NATO-led force ramps up operations in longtime Taliban strongholds in the southern provinces of Kandahar and Helmand, which accounted for most of last month's American deaths.
Two more international service members were killed on Sunday in fighting in the south, NATO said without specifying nationalities.
The Dutch departure was sealed after Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende's government collapsed earlier this year over disagreement among coalition members on whether to keep troops in Afghanistan longer. His Christian Democrat party suffered heavy losses at parliamentary elections in June.
Twenty-four Dutch soldiers have died in Afghanistan since the mission began in 2006. Most of the Dutch soldiers were based in the central province of Uruzgan, where they will be replaced by soldiers from the United States, Australia, Slovakia and Singapore.
The Dutch pioneered a strategy they called "3D" - defense, diplomacy and development - that involved fighting the Taliban while at the same time building close contacts with local tribal elders and setting up development projects.
NATO spokesman Brigadier General Josef Blotz played down the significance of the Dutch move, saying it did not signal a weakening of coalition resolve. He noted the surge of mostly US forces that have recently taken control of key areas in Helmand and Kandahar provinces from British and Canadian forces.
At least 270 civilians were killed in the fighting in July, and nearly 600 wounded - a 29 percent hike in civilian casualties over the previous month, an Afghan spokesman said.
The departure of the small force of nearly 1,900 Dutch troops is not expected to affect conditions on the ground. But it is politically significant because it comes at a time of rising casualties and growing doubts about the war in NATO capitals, even as allied troops are beginning what could be the decisive campaign of the war.
President Barack Obama has vowed to begin pulling out American troops from July 2011. But Defense Secretary Robert Gates told ABC's "This Week" broadcast on Sunday that only a small number of troops would leave in the initial stage.
The end of the Dutch mission on Sunday took place amid bad news from Afghanistan - including rising casualties and uncertainty over a strategy that relies heavily on winning Afghan public support through improved security and a better performance by Afghanistan's corrupt and ineffectual government.
July was the deadliest month of the nearly nine-year-old war for US forces with 66 deaths. US commanders have warned of more losses ahead as the NATO-led force ramps up operations in longtime Taliban strongholds in the southern provinces of Kandahar and Helmand, which accounted for most of last month's American deaths.
Two more international service members were killed on Sunday in fighting in the south, NATO said without specifying nationalities.
The Dutch departure was sealed after Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende's government collapsed earlier this year over disagreement among coalition members on whether to keep troops in Afghanistan longer. His Christian Democrat party suffered heavy losses at parliamentary elections in June.
Twenty-four Dutch soldiers have died in Afghanistan since the mission began in 2006. Most of the Dutch soldiers were based in the central province of Uruzgan, where they will be replaced by soldiers from the United States, Australia, Slovakia and Singapore.
The Dutch pioneered a strategy they called "3D" - defense, diplomacy and development - that involved fighting the Taliban while at the same time building close contacts with local tribal elders and setting up development projects.
NATO spokesman Brigadier General Josef Blotz played down the significance of the Dutch move, saying it did not signal a weakening of coalition resolve. He noted the surge of mostly US forces that have recently taken control of key areas in Helmand and Kandahar provinces from British and Canadian forces.
At least 270 civilians were killed in the fighting in July, and nearly 600 wounded - a 29 percent hike in civilian casualties over the previous month, an Afghan spokesman said.
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