Dutch government: a victim of the Afghan war

While many citizens in different countries disagree with the military mission in Afghanistan for their soldiers, governments have been more reluctant to let know their thoughts about it. On Saturday we learned about one European government which has become a victim of the Afghan war: the Dutch. The coalition government of Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende, who leads the center-right Christian Democrats, collapsed when the two largest parties failed to agree on the withdrawal of the troops from Afghanistan. The Dutch mission in Afghanistan started in 2006 and was scheduled to end in August this year with the last of the troops leaving in December. Balkenende wanted to extend the Dutch troop deployment past the deadline but Deputy Prime Minister Wouter Bos, from the Labor Party, opposed any extension. Now with the fall of the government, two days short of the coalition third anniversary, it is expected that the 2,000 Dutch troops will be brought home this year.
The fall of the government, just two days short of the coalition’s third anniversary, all but guarantees that the 2,000 Dutch troops will be brought home this year. Twenty-one Dutch soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan.