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The Netherlands in Afghanistan

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How and Why States Defect from Contemporary Military Coalitions

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Abstract

This chapter explores the factors leading to the Dutch decision to withdraw its military forces (including a battalion task force) and Provincial Reconstruction Team from Uruzgan province without a follow-on mission planned and the subsequent decision to contribute a police training mission in northern Afghanistan. Given that ISAF was, at the time, so controversial that the mere notion of an extension of the Uruzgan mission led to the collapse of the Balkenende government, it is somewhat remarkable that the Netherlands decided to re-engage in any capacity. However, as this chapter ultimately concludes, the pull of Dutch alliance relationships within NATO was key in motivating the Rutte government to find a way to become re-engaged in ISAF as expeditiously as possible.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    North Atlantic Treaty Organization Resolute Support Mission, “Resolute Support Mission: Key Facts and Figures,” http://www.nato.int/nato_static_fl2014/assets/pdf/pdf_2017_03/20170313_2017-03-RSM-Placemat.pdf.

  2. 2.

    Duco Hellema and Murray Pearson, Dutch Foreign Policy: The Role of the Netherlands in World Politics (Republic of Letters Publ., 2009).

  3. 3.

    This political confederation was only recognized by Spain at the Peace of Westphalia.

  4. 4.

    Henk Meijer, et al., “Netherlands,” in Britannica Online (Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2017).

  5. 5.

    Bernard Cecil Cohen, Democracies and Foreign Policy: Public Participation in the United States and the Netherlands (University of Wisconsin Press, 1995), p. 4.

  6. 6.

    Alfred Pijpers, “The Netherlands: The Weakening Pull of Atlanticism,” in The Actors in Europe’s Foreign Policy, ed. Christopher Hill (Routledge, 1996), p. 247.

  7. 7.

    Ibid.; Juliet Kaarbo, Coalition Politics and Cabinet Decision Making: A Comparative Analysis of Foreign Policy Choices (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2012).

  8. 8.

    Pijpers.

  9. 9.

    Pijpers, p. 259.

  10. 10.

    Joris J.C. Voorhoeve, Peace, Profits and Principles: A Study of Dutch Foreign Policy (The Hague: Nijhoff, 1979).

  11. 11.

    Kaarbo, p. 68. Kaarbo also notes, however, that in recent years its enthusiasm for European integration has waned somewhat, particularly due to concerns about immigration and radical Islamist terrorism. This anti-European sentiment has tended to manifest in the rise of right-wing populism, first with Pim Fortuyn.

  12. 12.

    David A. Cooper, “Somewhere between Great and Small: Disentangling the Conceptual Jumble of Middle, Regional, and ‘Niche’ Powers,” Seton Hall Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations 14, no. 2 (2013); Kaarbo.

  13. 13.

    Some scholars argue that this is a result of the Netherlands de-colonization. Rudy B. Andeweg and Galen A. Irwin, Governance and Politics of the Netherlands (Palgrave Macmillan, 2014); Kaarbo.

  14. 14.

    Martijn Kitzen, et al., “Soft Power, the Hard Way: Adaptation by the Netherlands’ Task Force Uruzgan,” Military Adaptation in Afghanistan (2013). One poll taken in 2004 suggested that 60% of the Dutch public was in favour of military interventions, so long as they were for humanitarian purposes. Henk Kamp, “New Future for the Netherlands Armed Forces,” The RUSI Journal 149, no. 3 (2004), p. 46.

  15. 15.

    Central Intelligence Agency, “Netherlands,” World Factbook (2017), https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/nl.html.

  16. 16.

    Cohen, pp. 22–23. Although this division of labour may be shifting somewhat, with greater latitude going to the executive.

  17. 17.

    Andeweg and Irwin, p. 113, write: “Compared with his British, French or even his German colleague, the Dutch prime minister has very few formal powers. He draws up the agenda and chairs all the meetings of the cabinet and its committees, and he casts the deciding vote when there is a tie. But the prime minister does not appoint the minister; names are agreed upon in negotiations between the parties, and formal appointment is then made by the Queen. The prime minister cannot remove a minister or ‘reshuffle’ the cabinet by assigning ministers to other portfolios. The prime minister can ask the Queen to dissolve Parliament when there is a political crisis or at the end of a regular parliamentary term. It is dubious, however, whether the Queen would honor such a request simply because the electoral prospects of the governing parties looked favourable.”

  18. 18.

    Hellema and Pearson, p. 331.

  19. 19.

    The Netherlands Institute for War Documentation, “Srebrenica: Reconstruction, Background, Consequences and Analyses of the Fall of a ‘Safe’ Area” (The Hague the Netherlands: Netherlands Institute, 2002), pp. 3516–3518.

  20. 20.

    North Atlantic Treaty Organization, “Defence Expenditures of NATO Countries (1975–1999)”.

  21. 21.

    The Netherlands Institute for War Documentation, p. 3522.

  22. 22.

    “The Belgian and Netherlands Navies under One Command,” Ministry of Defence of the Netherlands, https://web.archive.org/web/20170620230726/https://www.defensie.nl/english/topics/international-cooperation/contents/other-countries/the-belgian-and-netherlands-navies-under-1-command.

  23. 23.

    Rem Korteweg, “The Netherlands: To Fight, or Not to Fight?,” in Coalition Challenges in Afghanistan: The Politics of Alliance, ed. Gale A. Mattox and Stephen M. Grenier (Stanford University Press, 2015), p. 141.

  24. 24.

    Andrew Osborn and Paul Brown, “Dutch Cabinet Resigns over Srebrenica Massacre,” The Guardian, April 16, 2002.

  25. 25.

    Auerswald and Saideman (2014), p. 156.

  26. 26.

    Hellema and Pearson, p. 371.

  27. 27.

    Thomas R. Rochon, “The Netherlands: Negotiating Sovereignty in an Interdependent World” (1999), p. 255.

  28. 28.

    Auerswald and Saideman (2014); Auerswald and Saideman (2012); Korteweg.

  29. 29.

    Sandra Dieterich, Hartwig Hummel, and Stefan Marschall, “Parliamentary War Powers,” in DCAF Occasional Papers (21) (Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces, 2010). http://www.dcaf.ch/Publications/Parliamentary-War-Powers, p. 44.

  30. 30.

    According to Saideman and Auerswald, the Article 100 letters usually include the Dutch interests advanced by the deployment; the assurance that the military employment conforms with international law and is preferably based on a clear UN mandate; the degree of solidarity, credibility, and sharing of responsibilities with allies or partner nations; the assurance that the employment of military force will be done on a case-by-case basis, after consulting parliament and with sufficient societal support; a statement that there is a concrete military mission and also a clear command structure; assurances that political and military goals are attainable and that tasks are feasible; specification of available units; assessments of the risks for the employed personnel; a statement as to the needed financing and whether that financing has been budgeted; and the assurance that the military mission is done for a fixed term and that a new decision is needed to prolong the mission. Auerswald and Saideman.

  31. 31.

    Dieterich, Hummel, and Marschall, pp. 44–45.

  32. 32.

    General A.K. van der Vlis, “Deployment of the Armed Forces: Interaction between National and International Decision-Making” (The Hague, The Netherlands: Advisory Council on International Affairs, 2007), p. 9.

  33. 33.

    Jan Hoedeman and Theo Koelé, “Kok Komt Vs Tegemoet Met Oorlogstaal,” de Volkskrant, September 18, 2001. Articles and transcripts in Dutch were translated using Google Translate and Babylon. While nuances in the Dutch language were undoubtedly missed, these translations were sufficient to gain a sense of the overall contours of Dutch political discussions.

  34. 34.

    Reuters News Agency, “Allies Line up Behind U.S.,” Globe and Mail, September 19, 2001.

  35. 35.

    Hoedeman and Koelé.

  36. 36.

    “Dutch Parliament Backs Dispatch of Troops, Planes to Afghanistan,” Agence France-Presse, December 22, 2001.

  37. 37.

    Kreps, pp. 96–97.

  38. 38.

    “International Security Assistance Force (ISAF)” (Netherlands Institute for Military History: Ministry of Defence of the Netherlands, 2009), p. 4. The United Nations approved an international peacekeeping force for Afghanistan in December 2001. Oliver Moore, “Un Approves Afghan Force,” The Globe and Mail, December 20, 2001.

  39. 39.

    “Netherlands to Send Fighter Planes to Afghanistan,” Agence France Presse, December 21, 2001.

  40. 40.

    Hellema and Pearson, p. 373.

  41. 41.

    “New Ambassador Presents Credentials; Lauds Dutch Role in Afghanistan,” Associated Press International, December 5, 2001.

  42. 42.

    Philip H. Gordon and Jeremy Shapiro, Allies at War: America, Europe, and the Crisis over Iraq (McGraw-Hill Companies, 2004).

  43. 43.

    Belgian Prime Minister Verhofstadt eventually backpedalled on the intent of the summit; however the signal was already sent that Belgium and France were attempting to chart a European security policy independent of the United States.

  44. 44.

    “European Leaders Hold Defence Talks,” Irish News, April 29, 2003.

  45. 45.

    Mark Lander, “Threats and Responses: The Allies; German Chancellor Wins Parliament Vote to Extend Afghan Troop Presence,” The New York Times, November 6, 2002.

  46. 46.

    This is consistent with discussions the author had with senior pentagon officials working these issues at the time.

  47. 47.

    Vernon Loeb, “U.S. Urges NATO to Expand Role in Afghanistan,” The Washington Post, February 21, 2003.

  48. 48.

    “Belgium Voices Opposition to German Plan for NATO in Afghanistan with EU-Gen—EU-NATO-Afghanistan,” Associated Press International, March 15, 2003.

  49. 49.

    “NATO to Study Boosting Role in Afghanistan,” Agence France Presse—English, April 2, 2003.

  50. 50.

    UN authorization was granted in October of that year. See North Atlantic Treaty Organization, “NATO Afghanistan Placemat Archives,” www.nato.int/isaf/placemats_archive/2007-03-14-ISAF-Placemat.pdf.

  51. 51.

    Philip Everts, “The Netherlands and the War on Iraq” (2010); Thijs Brocades Zaalberg and Arthur ten Cate, “A Gentle Occupation: Unravelling the Dutch Approach in Iraq, 2003–2005,” Small Wars & Insurgencies 23, no. 1 (2012).

  52. 52.

    “Dutch Confirm Plans to Head UN Security Force in Afghanistan with Germans Next Year,” Associated Press International, November 6, 2002.

  53. 53.

    “Kok Wins Praise for Resignation,” CNN.com , April 17, 2002.

  54. 54.

    “Dutch Election on Despite Murder,” CNN.com , May 9, 2002.

  55. 55.

    Everts. This chapter, which also was cited in footnote 51, was subsequently published as: Philip Everts, “The Netherlands,” in Public Opinion and International Intervention: Lessons from the Iraq War, eds. Richard Sobel, Peter A. Furia, and Bethany Barratt, Public Opinion and International Intervention (Dulles, VA: Potomac Books, 2012).

  56. 56.

    Everts, pp. 21–22.

  57. 57.

    Kaarbo, p. 102.

  58. 58.

    Ibid., p. 102.

  59. 59.

    “Dutch Considering Role in Possible Postwar Peacekeeping Force in Iraq,” Associated Press International, April 11, 2003.

  60. 60.

    “Germany, Netherlands Take Joint Command of ISAF in Kabul,” Deutche Press-Agentur, February 10, 2003.

  61. 61.

    Brocades Zaalberg and ten Cate.

  62. 62.

    Sebastian J.H. Reitjens, “Managing Civil-Military Cooperation,” Armed Forces & Society 34, no. 2 (2008).

  63. 63.

    “Remarks by James Appathurai, NATO Spokesman, Discussing NATO’s Involvement in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kosovo,” Federal News Service, September 26, 2004.

  64. 64.

    “Dutch to Send 1,100 Peacekeepers to Iraq,” Deutsche Presse-Agentur, June 7, 2003.

  65. 65.

    Ibid. See also Stephen A. Carney, Allied Participation in Operation Iraqi Freedom (Washington, DC: Center of Military History, 2011), pp. 86–90.

  66. 66.

    Brocades Zaalberg and ten Cate.

  67. 67.

    Everts, p. 11.

  68. 68.

    Ibid.

  69. 69.

    “Dutch Plans for Pullout from Southern Iraq Remains Unchanged,” Japan Economic Newswire, August 25, 2004.

  70. 70.

    Paul Osborne, “Fed: Dutch Troops End Iraq Mission,” AAP Newsfeed, February 22, 2005.

  71. 71.

    Ibid.

  72. 72.

    Interview with Former Senior DOD Official, Washington, DC, March 12, 2017.

  73. 73.

    Korteweg, pp. 143–144.

  74. 74.

    Willis.

  75. 75.

    Lenny Hazelbag, “Political Decision Making of the Mission in Uruzgan, a Reconstruction,” in Norg, et al., p. 252.

  76. 76.

    “Rice Thanks Dutch for Efforts in Iraq, Afghanistan,” States News Service, February 18, 2005.

  77. 77.

    Interview with Former Senior DOD Official, Washington, DC, March 12, 2017.

  78. 78.

    Anthony Deutsch, “Dutch to Honor Washington’s Request for Special Forces in Afghanistan” (2005); “Dutch to Send 150 Marines to Help Catch Terrorists,” Bahrain News Agency February 25, 2005.

  79. 79.

    “About 100 Dutch Troops Leave for Afghanistan,” Agence France Presse, April 18, 2005.

  80. 80.

    “Dutch Troops Leave for Afghanistan,” Xinhua General News Service, July 29, 2005.

  81. 81.

    Hazelbag, p. 254.

  82. 82.

    Ibid., p. 254.

  83. 83.

    Ibid., p. 254.

  84. 84.

    Kitzen et al., p. 162.

  85. 85.

    Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, “Speech at the National Defense University” (2004).

  86. 86.

    Hazelbag, p. 252.

  87. 87.

    Kitzen et al., p. 162.

  88. 88.

    Ibid., p. 162.

  89. 89.

    Ibid., p. 162.

  90. 90.

    Hazelbag, p. 252. While staving off budget reductions may not have been the primary driver for the deployment, given the practicalities of defence politics, it is highly likely that this aspect of Hazelbag’s account is accurate.

  91. 91.

    Ibid., p. 253.

  92. 92.

    Interestingly, the other RC-South countries also describe the process of picking their respective provinces basically as a process of elimination.

  93. 93.

    “Two Dutch Soldiers Injured in Afghanistan Bomb Blast: Official,” Agence France-Presse, May 26, 2005.

  94. 94.

    The narrative that the “3-D” approach actually delivering success on the ground in al-Muthanna province is contested by Brocades Zaalberg and ten Cate.

  95. 95.

    Korteweg, p. 145.

  96. 96.

    Ibid. “Kinetic” is a word used by US military personnel in particular as a euphemism for combat.

  97. 97.

    Ibid.

  98. 98.

    Hazelbag.

  99. 99.

    Ibid., p. 255.

  100. 100.

    Ian Traynor, “Netherlands votes on troops for Afghanistan: Controversial plan seen as crucial to future of NATO: 1,400-strong force would be under UK command,” The Guardian, February 2, 2006, p. 19.

  101. 101.

    Ibid.

  102. 102.

    Ibid.

  103. 103.

    Ibid.

  104. 104.

    “U.S. Officials Reassure Dutch of Military Support for Troops Deploying in Afghanistan,” AP Worldstream, November 30, 2005.

  105. 105.

    “Military Ambition Vs. Caution, as Dutch Buy Missiles and Weigh Afghan Deployment,” The Associated Press, December 9, 2005.

  106. 106.

    “Netherlands Again Puts Off Decision on Afghanistan Deployment,” Agence France Presse, December 19, 2005.

  107. 107.

    The vance serchuck article citation (Vance Serchuk, “Dutch Retreat?; The Perils of Turning Afghanistan over to NATO,” The Weekly Standard, January 16, 2006.)

  108. 108.

    Vance Serchuk, “Dutch Retreat?; The Perils of Turning Afghanistan over to NATO,” The Weekly Standard, January 16, 2006; “Dutch Public Opposes Afghan Deployment,” Xinhua General News Service, January 17, 2006.

  109. 109.

    “Netherlands Again Puts Off Decision on Afghanistan Deployment.”

  110. 110.

    Michael Clarke, “The Helmand Decision,” in The Afghan Papers: Committing Britain to War in Helmand, 2005–06 (Whitehall Papers), ed. Michael Clarke (London: Royal United Services Institute, 2011), p. 17; Michael Smith, “Afghan Posting ‘Too Dangerous’ for Dutch Army,” The Sunday Times, November 20, 2005; Richard Beeston, “British Troops May Step In,” The Times, November 25, 2005. Hazelbag, p. 258.

  111. 111.

    Clarke; John Kerin, “Afghan Mission Waits on Dutch,” The Australian, December 30, 2005; “NATO Chief Hopes Dutch Will Send Troops to South Afghanistan,” Agence France Presse, January 6, 2006.

  112. 112.

    Hazelbag, p. 259. See also Arthur Max, “Dutch Reviewing Plan to Deploy 1200 Troops in Afghanistan, Officials Say,” AP Worldstream, November 24, 2005.

  113. 113.

    “U.S. Officials Reassure Dutch of Military Support for Troops Deploying in Afghanistan,” ibid., November 30.

  114. 114.

    “Report Says Dutch Cabinet Likely to Approve Afghan Military Mission,” Deutsche Presse-Agentur, December 2, 2005.

  115. 115.

    “U.S. Officials Reassure Dutch of Military Support for Troops Deploying in Afghanistan.”

  116. 116.

    “Dutch Cabinet Again Postpones Decision on Sending More Troops to NATO’s Afghan Mission,” AP Worldstream, December 19, 2005; “Dutch Cabinet Postpones Decision on Afghan Deployment,” Deutche Presse—Agentur, December 19, 2005.

  117. 117.

    “Netherlands Postpones Decision on Afghanistan Deployment: Sources,” Agence France Presse, December 9, 2005.

  118. 118.

    Hazelbag, p. 262.

  119. 119.

    “Government of the Netherlands to Send Troops to Afghanistan,” US Fed News, December 22, 2005.

  120. 120.

    Jan van der Meulen and Mirjam Grandia Mantas, “Brussels Calling: National Politics under International Pressure,” in Mission Uruzgan: Collaborating in Multiple Coalitions for Afghanistan, ed. Robert Beeres, et al. (Amsterdam University Press, 2012), p. 23.

  121. 121.

    “Bremer Says U.S. Will Punish Dutch for Not Joining Afghan Mission,” Deutsche Presse-Agentur, January 9, 2006. Bremer’s statements were quickly repudiated by US diplomat Kurt Volker.

  122. 122.

    “Netherlands Postpones Decision on Afghanistan Deployment: Sources.” “NATO Chief Urges Dutch to Decide on Sending Troops to Southern Afghanistan,” Agence France Presse, January 9, 2006. See also Meulen and Mantas, p. 21.

  123. 123.

    Hazelbag, p. 266.

  124. 124.

    Ibid., p. 265.

  125. 125.

    Molly Moore, “After Long Debate, Dutch Agree to Send Force to Afghanistan,” The Washington Post, February 3, 2006.

  126. 126.

    Gareth Harding, “Dutch to Send More Troops to Afghanistan,” UPI.com , April 20, 2006.

  127. 127.

    Korteweg, p. 148.

  128. 128.

    Kitzen et al. For the purposes of this book, it is not necessary to recount those tactical-level adaptations and frictions that took place during this time period.

  129. 129.

    Tom Hyland, “Diggers Could Plug Dutch Breach,” Sunday Age, July 1, 2007.

  130. 130.

    “Dutch Military Intelligence Says Afghan Mission Achieves Little,” Xinhua General News Service, May 11, 2007.

  131. 131.

    “Dutch Parliament Supports Extension of Military Mission in Afghanistan,” Xinhua General News Service, November 8, 2007.

  132. 132.

    Rob Gillies, “Canada Wants the Netherlands to Extend Mission in Afghanistan Beyond 2008,” Associated Press International, June 12, 2007.

  133. 133.

    “Dutch Public Oppose Extension of Afghanistan Mission,” Xinhua General News Service, April 26, 2007.

  134. 134.

    “Former Dutch Defense Minister Expresses Fears over Extension of Afghan Mission,” Xinhua General News Service, May 9, 2007.

  135. 135.

    “Dutch Minister Rejects Afghan Criticism on Civilian Casualties,” Xinhua General News Service, June 26, 2007.

  136. 136.

    Paul Koring, “Opening the Floodgates to an Exodus? Countries Whose Troops Are Battling and Dying in the War-Ravaged South Are Feeling Pressure to Withdraw, Threatening NATO’s Mission,” The Globe and Mail, September 20, 2007.

  137. 137.

    “The Netherlands Requests German Help in South Afghan Reconstruction,” Deutsche Presse-Agentur, May 14, 2007.

  138. 138.

    “Dutch PM Urges Wider Int’l Support for Afghan Cause,” Xinhua General News Service, June 12, 2007.

  139. 139.

    “Danger Escalates as Leaders Shed Duty to Respond,” The Star Phoenix, September 13, 2007.

  140. 140.

    Phone interview with former Senior Ministry of Defense of the Netherlands Official, Washington, DC, March 8, 2017.

  141. 141.

    “Preview: NATO to Reshuffle Emergency Forces, Special Missions,” Deutsche Press Agentur, October 22, 2007.

  142. 142.

    “Voa News: Canada, Netherlands Seek More NATO Troops for Afghanistan,” US Fed News, September 19, 2007.

  143. 143.

    Hyland.

  144. 144.

    “Dutch Postpone Decision on Afghan Mission,” Agence France Presse, August 17, 2007.

  145. 145.

    “NATO Generals Map Afghan Plans,” The Record, September 7, 2007.

  146. 146.

    Gillies, “Canada Wants the Netherlands to Extend Mission in Afghanistan Beyond 2008.”

  147. 147.

    Paul Ames, “NATO Seek Extension of Dutch Mission in Afghanistan,” Associated Press, September 1, 2007.

  148. 148.

    “Dutch PM Meets Karzai, Soldiers in Afghanistan,” Agence France Presse, September 11, 2007.

  149. 149.

    Gerald de Hemptinne, “Dutch Troops to Stay in Afghanistan until 2010: Government,” ibid., November 30. Mark Colvin, “Nelson Discusses Afghanistan Strategy,” Australian Broadcasting Corporation Transcripts, September 14, 2007.

  150. 150.

    “No Country Can Leave Afghanistan Says NATO Chief,” Agence France Presse, September 19, 2007.

  151. 151.

    De Hoop Scheffer, as quoted in Kitzen et al., p. 163.

  152. 152.

    “Many Dutch Opposed to Extending the Military Mission in Afghanistan,” Xinhua General News Service, June 18, 2007.

  153. 153.

    “Afghanistan (Dutch Decision on Afghanistan Affects Canada),” Pakistan Press International, September 2, 2007.

  154. 154.

    Mitch Potter, “Dutch Gird Reluctantly for Renewal of Afghan Mission,” Toronto Star, October 13, 2007.

  155. 155.

    “NATO Boss Says He Is Concerned by Lack of Alliance Troops in Afghanistan,” Associated Press International, October 8, 2007.

  156. 156.

    Kristin Roberts, “Gates Raises Pressure on NATO over Afghan Commitment,” Reuters, October 22, 2007.

  157. 157.

    Alan Freeman, “Failure Would Be a Disaster, Dutch Warn NATO; ‘Canada Is Watching US, and We Are Watching Canada,’ Defense Minister Says as the Netherlands Mulls Impact of Pulling Out,” The Globe and Mail, October 24, 2007.

  158. 158.

    Paul Ames, “NATO Reports Progress in Drumming up More Troops for Afghanistan,” Associated Press International, October 25, 2007.

  159. 159.

    Murray Brewster, “NATO Members Promise Just Enough to Keep Dutch Troops in Afghanistan Past 2008,” The Daily Gleaner, October 27, 2007.

  160. 160.

    Canwest News Service, “Dutch Troops Will Stay in Afghanistan: Media,” Edmonton Journal, November 23, 2007.

  161. 161.

    “NATO Boss Says He Is Concerned by Lack of Alliance Troops in Afghanistan.”

  162. 162.

    Gerald de Hemptinne, “Dutch troops to stay in Afghanistan until 2010: Government,” Agence France Presse, November 30, 2007. The Dutch government temporarily sent approximately 75 commandos to Afghanistan in mid-2009.

  163. 163.

    Korteweg, p. 148.

  164. 164.

    Kitzen et al., p. 179.

  165. 165.

    Phone interview with former Senior Ministry of Defense of the Netherlands Official, Washington, DC, March 8, 2017.

  166. 166.

    Phone interview with former Senior Ministry of Defense of the Netherlands Official, Washington, DC, March 8, 2017; Interview with Former Senior DOD Official, Washington, DC, March 12, 2017.

  167. 167.

    Accounts of these meetings were reported to the parliament by the minister of defence.

  168. 168.

    “Obama Invites Netherlands to Pittsburgh G20 Summit,” Reuters, July 14, 2009.

  169. 169.

    “NATO Chief Accepts Netherlands’ Planned Withdrawal from Southern Afghanistan,” Trend Daily News, March 30, 2009.

  170. 170.

    Ibid.

  171. 171.

    “Dutch Could Have Smaller Afghan Mission after Pullout: PM,” Agence France Presse—English, January 24, 2009.

  172. 172.

    The Netherlands was also invited to host a major international donors’ conference for Afghanistan that year. Korteweg, p. 156.

  173. 173.

    David Brunnstrom, “NATO Backs Obama Afghan Plan, but Troops Short-Term,” Reuters, April 5, 2009.

  174. 174.

    “Media Availability with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen (as Released by the State Department),” Federal News Service, March 31, 2009.

  175. 175.

    Obama, 2009.

  176. 176.

    Beatrice De Graaf and George Dimitriu, “The Dutch Narrative on Afghanistan,” in Strategic Narratives, Public Opinion and War: Winning Domestic Support for the Afghan War, ed. Beatrice De Graaf, George Dimitriu, and Jens Ringsmose (Routledge, 2015).

  177. 177.

    “Dutch Defense Minister Does Not Rule out Longer Mission in Afghanistan,” Xinhua General News Service, September 8, 2008.

  178. 178.

    “Netherlands to Stick to Afghanistan Withdrawal Plan,” Xinhua General News Service, November 14, 2008.

  179. 179.

    “Report: Dutch May Stay in Afghanistan Past 2010,” Associated Press International, March 26, 2009.

  180. 180.

    “Netherlands to Stick to Its Afghanistan Pullout Plan,” Xinhua General News Service, March 26, 2009.

  181. 181.

    “Dutch Could Have Smaller Afghan Mission after Pullout: PM,” Agence France Presse, January 23, 2009; Eimert van Middelkoop, “Letter from the Minister of Defense to the President of the House of Representatives,” Ministry of Defence of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (The Hague, 2009).

  182. 182.

    “Dutch Might Extend Mission in Afghanistan,” Associated Press International, September 23, 2009.

  183. 183.

    Theo Brinkel, “The Dutch Exit from Uruzgan,” in Netherlands Annual Review of Military Studies 2015: The Dilemma of Leaving: Political and Military Exit Strategies, ed. Jörg Noll, et al. (Springer, 2015), p. 77.

  184. 184.

    “Afghan Policy Reveals Coalition Divisions—Competitive Landscape,” Business Monitor International Forecast Report, January 1, 2010.

  185. 185.

    “Dutch Parliament against Longer Afghan Mission,” Associated Press International, October 6, 2009.

  186. 186.

    “Afghan Policy Reveals Coalition Divisions—Competitive Landscape.”

  187. 187.

    Robert Fox, “The Dutch Dilemma in Afghanistan,” The Guardian, February 22, 2010.

  188. 188.

    Isabel Conway, “Dutch Cabinet near Collapse over Afghan Mission Row,” The Irish Times, February 20, 2010.

  189. 189.

    Afua Hirsch, “Iraq Invasion Violated International Law, Dutch Inquiry Finds,” The Guardian, January 12, 2010; Davids Committee, “Rapport: Commissie Van Onderzoek Besluitvorming Irak,” Boom, Amsterdam (2010); “Dutch Call for Parliamentary Inquiry into Iraq War,” Trend Daily News, January 12, 2010.

  190. 190.

    Robert Marquand, “Dutch Government Collapse: Will Other European Troops Now Leave Afghanistan?; The Collapse of the Dutch Government Saturday Shows How Unpopular the War in Afghanistan Is in Europe. Will Other European Nations Pull Their Troops out of Afghanistan Earlier Than Planned?,” The Christian Science Monitor, February 22, 2010; Blanka Kolenikova, “Dutch Government Collapses over Afghan Mission,” IHS Global Insight, February 22, 2010; The Associated Press, “Party Leaves Dutch Coalition over Troops,” The New York Times, February 20, 2010.

  191. 191.

    “Dutch Government Falls over Afghan Military Mission: PM,” Agence France Presse—English, February 20, 2010.

  192. 192.

    M.J.M. Verhagen, “Brief Van De Minister Van Buitenlandse Zaken Aan De Voorzitter Van De Tweede Kamer Der Staten-Generaal (Verslag Van De Ministeriële Bijeenkomst Van De Noord-Atlantische Raad (Nar) Te Tallinn Op 22 En 23 April)”, Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken (Den Haag, 2010); Commissie voor Defensie en de vaste commissie voor Buitenlandse Zaken, “Bestrijding Internationaal Terrorisme: Verslag Van Een Algemeen Overleg Vastgesteld 22 Juli 2010,” ed. Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal (Den Haag, 2010).

  193. 193.

    Phone interview with former Senior Ministry of Defense of the Netherlands Official.

  194. 194.

    Ministry of Defence of the Netherlands, “Cabinet: Police Trainers for Afghanistan,” News Release, January 12, 2011, https://www.defensie.nl/english/latest/news/2011/01/12/cabinet-police-trainers-for-afghanistan.

  195. 195.

    Ibid.

  196. 196.

    Meulen and Mantas, p. 20.

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    Kathleen J. McInnis

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McInnis, K.J. (2020). The Netherlands in Afghanistan. In: How and Why States Defect from Contemporary Military Coalitions. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78834-0_4

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