OT - Dutch Ditch NATO Allies In Afghanistan
Abigail R. Esman, 08.02.10, 02:45 PM EDT
Holland's retreat is bad news for the war on terror--and the region's women.
The Dutch may have lost this year's World Cup, but they sure have won the hearts, at least, of Afghanistan's Taliban leaders.
Days before Holland began its Aug. 1 withdrawal of troops from Afghan providence Uruzgan, Taliban spokesman Qari Yusef Ahmadii offered up his thanks in an interview with Dutch newspaper the Volkskrant. "We wish the people and the rulers of the Netherlands all the best for their courage to make this independent choice," he said.
Holland's decision to remove its forces from the region was made in defiance of NATO requests that international coalition troops remain at least until 2011, making Holland the first of NATO's forces to withdraw since the 2001 invasion. It also created a rift in the Dutch parliament, causing its collapse last February.
Ahmadii expressed more than praise, however, in his statements to the Volkskrant. "In the past few years," he warned, "NATO and the U.S. have sent tens of thousands of soldiers to Afghanistan--but they've failed to change the situation. The more soldiers you send, the stronger the resistance will become. For every Talib you kill, 10 more will rise up to replace him."
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