Sunday, February 21, 2010
AMSTERDAM (AP) — A furious dispute over the war in Afghanistan brought down the Dutch government Saturday, bitterly divided on whether its forces should stay or go as NATO deepens its engagement against the Taliban.
After a contentious 16-hour cabinet meeting, a key partner walked out of Jan Peter Balkenende’s coalition, accusing the prime minister of reneging on a pledge to withdraw 1,600 troops this year from Uruzgan province, where 21 Dutchmen already have died.
The collapse of the center-right government was the result of discontent with policies that made the Netherlands a loyal ally of the U.S. in Afghanistan and previously in Iraq, and was a sign of the difficulty President Barack Obama faces in maintaining the international contingent in the battlefield at full strength.
Canada has said it intends to withdraw its entire 2,800-strong force from Afghanistan by the end of 2011. The Canadian contingent, the third-largest after the U.S. and Britain, serves together with the Dutch in Uruzgan.
The allies account for roughly half the 87,000 NATO troops in Afghanistan. Most European nations — including France and Germany — have been reluctant to boost their troop levels even as the U.S. pours thousands more soldiers in.
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