Dutch coalition party against NATO Afghan extension request
Feb 17, 2010, 13:46 GMT


Amsterdam - A junior party in the governing coalition in th Netherlands has said it will not support NATO's request to extend the military's presence in Afghanistan.

The Netherlands is due to withdraw its troops from the southern province of Uruzghan by the end of 2010.

Leader of the Labour party and deputy Prime Minister Wouter Bos told his coalition partners Wednesday that they were against granting a request from NATO, which leads the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, to extend the mission for one year.

On February 9, the government said NATO's Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen had formally requested Dutch forces to remain active in Uruzghan until August 2011 to train local security staff.

The government then said it would take a decision before March 1.

The deputy Prime Minister declined to say whether his party's decision would jeopardize the continuation of the government coalition, which is deeply divided over continued military involvement in Afghanistan.

The largest coalition party, the Christian Democrats, would like the army to remain in Afghanistan. Aside from Labour, the much smaller Christian Union also rejects any extension of the mission.

The Netherlands has some 1,880 troops in Afghanistan, 1,250 of them stationed in Uruzghan. The Dutch ISAF mission, which started in 2006 and was extended in 2008, is due to end in August.

Twenty-one Dutch soldiers have died in Afghanistan since 2006.


http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/southasia/news/article_1534329.php/Dutch-coalition-party-against-NATO-Afghan-extension-request