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Originally Posted by KeptinCranky
Skybird, It does appear that our foreign minister made some verbal guarantees to the Nato chairman... there's also that whole business with our previous foreign minister being the Nato chairman before Rasmussen,...
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He shouldn't have done that if the coalition was only entered by the Socialdemocrats under explicit mutual agreement that the troops would not stay beyond 2010. That promise to NATO thus boarders blackmailing, if not betrayal, then. the goivernment should have known they can't do that. In a coalition, you just can't run your head through the wall.
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there's no actual evidence but I doesn't take a genius to piece together that they promised Nato to stay longer and thought they could get away with a fait accompli.  I'm glad they didn't, I'm not a big fan of the current (ex)government, I do not like the way they mix their christian mythology into their politics...I'm happy to see them sod off, I just wish they'd done so earlier.
All I hope is that we'll finally be rid of that ineffectual nitwit Balkenende, and hopefully have the next government entirely without the christian democrats.
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I would not cry for Balenende either, but I think you have around 20 parties, or did I misread that? Any new government likely will have 4 or 5 parties. I expect the Conservatives in it again, and Wilder's party. The socialdemocrats have fallen drastically in past months, but maybe they can regain some points due to their decision to hold their line in the Afghanistan row.
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As to the mission our military's doing in Uruzgan province in Afghanistan, I think they've done some good over the years, I just hope it lasts, despite the casualties. I just feel that two important rules for any military action were ignored in agreeing to go there in the first place:
- "Never start a land war in asia" and
- if you have to fight, fight to win,
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I often said the German govenrment is on a reality-disconnected ghost-flight in it's assessement of Afghanistan. I think that is true for all NATO, and thus: also for the Netherlands. the expectations of what can be acchieved are - bizarr.
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they should've gone in with everything and the kitchen sink to back them up, not leave the Leopard tanks and the artillery support behind... I've seen some references from other countries that call our troops "the beggar army". if there's ANY truth to that I feel the government responsible has a lot to answer for..
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Tell that the Germans and their inadequate "air mobility"! They still are stuck with just five transport helicopters, 2 or 3 usually are down for maintenance and repairs at any given time. That makes 2 or 3 active helicopters - for over 4000 soldiers acting in an area in the North half the size of Germany!
Since here are some Dutch assembled, this raises the chance for German being understood. This is an interview with Ruslan Auschew, who was Lieutenant Colonel at the time of the Soviet Afghanistan war, and later was president of Ingushetia.
http://www.tagesspiegel.de/politik/i...t15872,3027688