Dutch (Truly) To Stay Longer in Afghanistan
The Dutch government and Parliament have decided to stay in Afghanistan until 2010. A few months ago, the Dutch cabinet already said that it wanted to prolong our stay in the Afghan province of Oruzgan, but now most other MP’s have agreed to stay in the war-torn country for a couple of years more as well.
My own party, the VVD, initially had its worries, but now also supports the plan. Of the 150 members of Parliament, 103 voted in favor of prolonging the mission.
The parties that opposed the plan are Groenlinks, SP (socialist party), D66, Party for the Animals (yeah, we really have one of those), Rita Verdonk, and the PVV. The PVV is, of course, Geert Wilders’ party. It’s fascinating to see that the man who constantly talks about Muslim extremism and terrorism isn’t willing to send troops to a country in which we’re actually fighting against Al Qaeda and their allies (such as the Taliban).
Same goes for Rita Verdonk of course.









