Reax to likely Dutch withdrawal from Uruzgan province

• published: 24 Jul 2015
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SHOTLIST FILE: Kabul - 3 April 2004 1. Various of Dutch troops with military helicopter 2. Dutch troops, one with a dog 3. Various of Dutch troops AP TELEVISION Kabul - 21 February 2010 4. Various of Kabul streets 5. Set up shot of Afghan defence spokesman General Zahir Azimi 6. SOUNDBITE (Dari) General Zahir Azimi, Afghan Defence ministry spokesman: "This is an issue for NATO and Holland to deal with and will not have a negative effect on the Afghan war. NATO representatives and non NATO countries are involved in this war. We don''t want to interfere with the decisions of NATO. It is a NATO internal issue to deal with. This will not affect the current war in Afghanistan." 7. Various of market in Kabul 8. SOUNDBITE (Dari) Atiqullah, full name not given, vox pop: "Take the foreign forces away. We Afghans can take care of our own security. We don''t like foreigners in our country." 9. SOUNDBITE (Dari) Mohamed Nahim, Kabul resident, vox pop: "From my point of view, firstly they (the Dutch) have not made a final decision on taking their troops out of the country and I also don''t think it will have any impact on the current foreigners in this country." NOTE: THE FOLLOWING WAS SHOT BY AN AP CAMERAMAN EMBEDDED WITH ISAF, THE INTERNATIONAL SECURITY ASSISTANCE FORCE AP TELEVISION FILE: Uruzgan province - 27 April 2007 10. Wide of Dutch military helicopter flying toward the Uruzgan Mountains 11. Close up of helicopter crewman 12. Mid of gunner 13. Helicopter in flight, silhouetted against the sun 14. Gunner in door 15. Close up of hands on gun, tilt up 16. Helicopter landing near Cherna Tu village in Uruzgan province STORYLINE The likely exit of Dutch troops from Afghanistan leaves a key province in the heart of the nation vulnerable to Taliban infiltration - especially if militants are pushed out of their sanctuaries in the south. The departure of the Netherlands and Canada, which plans to remove its 2,800 troops from the country next year, could prompt other nations in the NATO alliance to rethink their commitment to the eight-year-old war. And it underscores the difficulty US President Barack Obama faces in keeping the international contingent intact. The Dutch serve in Uruzgan province, an area well-known to several insurgent commanders, including Taliban kingpin Mullah Mohammed Omar who once was a cleric in the Dihrawud district. Moreover, Uruzgan borders Helmand province where 15,000 US, Afghan and NATO forces are in their ninth day fighting insurgents for control of the town of Marjah. Uruzgan''s provincial governor told The Associated Press on Sunday that the Dutch force is still very much needed in strengthening the Afghan National Army and the Afghan National Police. The bulk of Australia''s 1,500 troops in Afghanistan are based in Uruzgan doing reconstruction work and training Afghan security forces, but Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said on Sunday that his country has no plans to fill the vacuum if the Dutch withdraw. There are more than 44-thousand non-US troops from NATO and partner countries in Afghanistan, compared with more than 74-thousand Americans. Most European nations, including France and Germany, have been reluctant to substantially boost their troop levels even as the US pours 30-thousand more soldiers in, limiting their contributions mainly to instructors for the Afghan army and police. Afghan Defence Ministry spokesman General Mohammad Zahir Azimi said that he is counting on the NATO commitment to stay in Afghanistan until Afghan security forces can assume responsibility for some provinces in two or three years. But he stressed that the NATO commitment was not hinged on one country. He claimed the issue was ''internal'' between NATO and the Netherlands. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/3d8c1dbb04aa7e2fcbe6c58869ea5899 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork