Dutch government collapses over stance on troops

[Forkboy]

Pullout could put Afghan war forces at greater risk

BERLIN - A last-ditch effort to keep Dutch troops in Afghanistan brought down the governing coalition in the Netherlands early yesterday, immediately raising fears that the Western military coalition fighting the war is increasingly at risk.

Even as the allied offensive in the Taliban stronghold of Marjah continued yesterday, it appeared almost certain that most of the 2,000 Dutch troops would be gone from Afghanistan by the end of the year. The question plaguing military planners was whether a Dutch departure would embolden the war’s critics in other allied countries, where debate over deployment is continuing, and hasten the withdrawal of their troops as well.

“If the Dutch go, which is the implication of all this, that could open the floodgates for other Europeans to say, ‘The Dutch are going, we can go, too,’ ’’ said Julian Lindley-French, professor of defense strategy at the Netherlands Defense Academy in Breda. “The implications are that the US and the British are going to take on more of the load.’’
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The Dutch troops have been important to the war effort, despite their small numbers, because about 1,500 of them were posted in the dangerous southern Afghan province of Oruzgan.

http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2010/02/21/dutch_government_collapses_over_stance_on_troops/

[midnight]

1. If the Dutch go, then when can the rest go? Good question to be asked...