Officially the Netherlands does not begin its mission in Uruzgan until August this year. Around 1,400 troops will spend two years from that date as part of Phase 3 of ISAF, the NATO-led security asnd reconstruction mission in Afghanistan. Phase 3 concentrates on the central and southern provinces, where the Taliban still have relatively large numbers of supporters.
Neglected region
Tarin Kowt was in fact the place where the future Afghan president Hamid Karzai, with the help of a handful of US Special Forces and several hundred of his own men, won the first decisive victory in the campaign to oust the Taliban. That was in late 2001 not long after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States. However, according to the Dutch defence minister, the central government in Kabul has badly neglected the south in the past two years.
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Click to listen to the interview with Henk Kamp
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"The people in this region have received little from the Afghan government. The only thing the local populace can do is wait and see which side proves the stronger and try to avoid getting into too much trouble."
Minister Kamp says the Taliban are still constantly active in the region and have a far-reaching influence on the inhabitants.
"They're fed up with the situation, though. They want peace, security and progress and the Taliban can't offer them that."
Taliban killed
Dutch commandos have been scouting out the area around Tarin Kowt in recent days and have encountered fierce resistance. Unconfirmed reports say dozens of Taliban have been killed in the fighting.
Uruzgan is also one of four provinces where, since mid-May, Operation Mountain Thrust has been taking place. Afghan, US, British and Canadian troops are trying to eliminate the Taliban before the summer, when NATO is due to take command of the US-led Operation Enduring Freedom.
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Dutch Defence Minister Henk Kamp
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Reconstruction
Mr Kamp emphasized that the US troops in Uruzgan have carried out numerous reconstruction projects and haven't just been fighting the Taliban.
"The Americans in Uruzgan have started 90 projects, including founding schools, setting up vocational training courses, building bridges and helping people look after their cattle."
"ISAF's main line of approach is to take every chance that presents itself to offer people progress. We know we'll have to fight the Taliban, we'll have to defend ourselves - take the fight to them with preventive attacks, if necessary. But at the same time we'll hold to our primary angle of creating possibilities for material improvement, for greater security for the Afghan people. It's a stabilising mission. That means fighting if it's necessary, but reconstruction as soon as and as much as possible."
Massive base
Following his visit to Tarin Kowt, Minister Kamp said he was particuarly impressed by the construction work on the new Dutch base which will replace the US base.
"We're building the biggest military base since the Korean war. It's a huge complex with wells, a sewage treatment plant and its own electricity supply."
The fact that Taliban fighters in the mountains may have been watching him during his visit to the valley where Tarin Kowt is located doesn't bother him at all.
"We are watching them too and if necessary we will fight with Taliban."
*Translation by RNW Internet (imm)
Tags: Enduring Freedom, Hamid Karzai, ISAF, Kabul, Kamp, Mountain Thrust, NATO, Taliban, Tarin Kowt, Uruzgan
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