by DAVID AXE
Two years after an unexpected surge in Dutch support for the Afghan war, the Netherlands has taken the first steps towards officially withdrawing from the NATO coalition in Afghanistan beginning in late 2010. A non-binding parliamentary decision in October rejecting an extension of the Dutch mission represents a striking break from the overall trend within NATO of deepening the alliance’s commitment to the eight-year-old war.
The U.S. military is adding 30,000 troops to its current 70,000-strong force in Afghanistan, while the U.K., Italy and Poland — as well as non-NATO-members South Korea and Georgia — have also signaled their willingness to send reinforcements. Combined with other smaller contributions, the additional coalition troops will total as many as 7,000. Of the major NATO nations and their allies, only the Netherlands and Canada are looking for ways out. The planned departure of the 2,000 Dutch troops raises important questions about the Afghan conflict.
The Netherlands’ reluctance to keep fighting has roots in a bloody battle two years ago.
On June 15, 2007, a Taliban suicide bomber in a compact car blew himself up alongside a Dutch army convoy in the town of Tarin Kowt, in Afghanistan’s southern province of Uruzgan. The Dutch troops were protecting a delegation of female Dutch soldiers and reporters visiting an Afghan girls’ school to commemorate U.N. International Women’s Day. The blast killed the bomber, along with a popular Dutch soldier named Timo Smeehuijzen and around 10 Afghan children. Smeehuijzen was only the second Dutch fatality of the war.
Read the rest at World Politics Review.
(Photo: David Axe)
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“Of the major NATO nations and their allies, only the Netherlands and Canada are looking for ways out.”
Canada is looking for a way out? No, we have already found our way out and it has been to known to our NATO allies for sometime now. The Canadian Parliament passed a resolution mandating that the mission end in 2011.
133 Canadian soldiers have died in Afghanistan. It would be appreciated if you were to remember that. Third highest death toll among our NATO allies and, last time I checked, a higher death toll per capita than the American forces.
Huron,
Relax. No one is attacking the Canadians. Recall this:
http://warisboring.com/?p=531
[...] Related: World Politics Review: Dutch Government Mulls Departure from Afghan War Columbia City Paper: The Impossible War — Obama Commits More Troops to Afghanistan, with the Wrong Strategy VoA News: Training Afghan Forces Poses Challenge for U.S. Military Axe-SPAN: On U.S. Training of Afghan Army and Police VoA News: Logistics Play Key Role in U.S. War Effort in Afghanistan Offiziere.ch: In Afghanistan, Helicopters Represent NATO’s Greatest Strength, Biggest Weakness Wired.co.uk: A Man and His Drones — on the Front Line of Robotic Warfare VoA News: U.S. Troops Experiment with New Strategy for Afghanistan World Politics Review: After Setbacks, Human Terrain System Rebuilds Taliban Propaganda Drools over Killed Vehicles World Politics Review: U.S. Air Force Advisers Struggle with Afghan Cultural Gap French Origins of the “Ink Spot” No Comments so far Leave a comment RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI Leave a comment Line and paragraph breaks automatic, e-mail address never displayed, HTML allowed: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <code> <em> <i> <strike> <strong> [...]
Well done Mr. Axe. It’s to your credit that you bother to report on the Dutch mission in Oruzgan.
I think that part of the problem is retention of skilled technicians in the Dutch military. They don’t want to spend half of their career in that place when they are perfectly employable back home as civilians who get to go home at the end of the day. However I’ll admit to that issue being a tangential one. Everyone knows it’s really about the food….
As for the Canadians, you might expect some touchiness. A certain Mr. Yon wrote something recently about the Canadian mission in Kandahar. I hope you’ve had time to read it.
Re: Withdrawl plans, those British Army statements some months ago about needing 20 years to defeat the Taliban and rebuild Afghanistan were interesting. I’m pretty sure that whoever authorized those understood that most people would hear that and think “then we’d better get out, because I can’t support another 20 years of this.” So someone is looking for ways out, even though the British Government and (now) their army are loudly insisting that they’ll keep fighting and ‘win’.
That would be a shame after Kilcullen’s report that they were the most effective counterinsurgents in Afghanistan.
[...] Related: Axe-SPAN: U.S. Training of Afghan Air Force World Politics Review: Dutch Government Mulls Departure from Afghan War Columbia City Paper: The Impossible War — Obama Commits More Troops to Afghanistan, with the Wrong Strategy VoA News: Training Afghan Forces Poses Challenge for U.S. Military Axe-SPAN: On U.S. Training of Afghan Army and Police VoA News: Logistics Play Key Role in U.S. War Effort in Afghanistan Offiziere.ch: In Afghanistan, Helicopters Represent NATO’s Greatest Strength, Biggest Weakness Wired.co.uk: A Man and His Drones — on the Front Line of Robotic Warfare VoA News: U.S. Troops Experiment with New Strategy for Afghanistan World Politics Review: After Setbacks, Human Terrain System Rebuilds Taliban Propaganda Drools over Killed Vehicles World Politics Review: U.S. Air Force Advisers Struggle with Afghan Cultural Gap French Origins of the “Ink Spot” No Comments so far Leave a comment RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI Leave a comment Line and paragraph breaks automatic, e-mail address never displayed, HTML allowed: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <code> <em> <i> <strike> <strong> [...]
1) The latest from the Dutch: it appears politicians will be debating the issue and making some decisions 5 through 8 Jan 10 – Dutch story here, Google English here.
2) As for Michael Yon’s comments, there’s not much to be “touchy” about. I’ll take this: “Canadians are in command of a sizable number of our combat forces here, though Canadians themselves are essentially finished fighting.”
in context with this:
“The U.S. soldiers who have worked with Canadians continue to praise the combat soldiers.”
and this:
I asked numerous U.S. soldiers what they think of Canadians. High marks across the board. 82nd Airborne is coming in and 1-17th going out. LTC Frank Jenio (82nd) told LTC Neumann (1-17th) that Canadian leadership is excellent, and his battalion will be under Canadian command.”
What NATO/non-NATO country ISN’T under-trooped in AFG?
The Dutch gov’t decision whether or not to stay in Uruzgan after 1 August 2010 is a formal one. It signed up for one ISAF stint (2006-2008), then upon request from NATO for another one (2008-2010). Your assessment that “The Netherlands’ reluctance to keep fighting has roots in a bloody battle two years ago” is in no way related to the current discussion. “Chora” is neither mentioned by any politician, nor reflected in any way in opinion polls.
Currently, two of the coalition parties are in favor of some other form of participation in ISAF (but no longer as a lead nation); the third one is against. Gov’t decision expected by January 8th. My personal bet: the Provincial Reconstruction Team will stay, as will the Special Forces and F-16′s.
Hans de Vreij
Defense specialist, Radio Netherlands Worldwide