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Foreign Minister Ben Bot and Defence Minister Henk Kamp had made it clear on numerous occasions over recent months that they strongly supported a continuation of the country's military presence in the southern Iraqi province of al-Muthanna.
The decision by the cabinet can already count on a clear majority in the country's lower house, which will debate the plan in coming week. The main opposition Labour Party wants to see more guarantees for the troops´safety before it gives full backing to the plan.
Within the cabinet – a three-party coalition of Christian Democrats, conservative VVD and the D66 democrats – only the D66 ministers still had doubts about the planned extension as the week began, but the new UN resolution on Iraq finally removed their concerns.
The Dutch cabinet believes a continuation of the mission is important for the "security and stability" of Iraq. The 1,350 troops already there will now remain in place until at the least the date of the elections in Iraq, due to be held by January 2005 at the latest. They may well stay on after that as a new government is formed. But they will return at the end of eight months. The extension also applies to the six Dutch Apache helicopters which were recently flown out to Iraq.
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The Netherlands has, for some time, been under international pressure to maintain its military presence in Iraq. The United States, the United Kingdom and Japan had all been calling on The Hague to do so. In the case of the Japanese military personnel in Iraq, their protection is entrusted to the Dutch troops based in the same province.
Meanwhile, the Dutch cabinet had been pushing Washington to ensure that a new UN resolution on Iraq was forthcoming, which would provide for a proper transfer of power back to the Iraqis and, at the same time, provide legitimacy for the presence of foreign troops inside Iraq.
Resolution helps resolve
Therefore, the UN Security
Council resolution unanimously adopted earlier this week played a
significant part in the Dutch cabinet's decision. That resolution
stipulates that, after 30 June, the new Iraqi government and the
United Nations will play a greater role in the country's affairs.
And, formally, the US occupation of Iraq will end, with Washington
partially relinquishing control while - in practice - it will still
maintain a firm hand on the strings.
The UN resolution helped sway junior coalition partner D66 to
support the continuation of the mission. For a long time, it had
doubts about doing so, particularly because of the marginal role
left for the United Nations. However, shortly after the vote in the
UN Security Council, Boris Dittrich, leader of D66, said he no
longer had any objections to the proposed extension.
Labour yet to decide
Of the main parties, the
opposition Labour Party is the only one yet to decide on the
continued presence of Dutch troops in Iraq. The social democrats
first want to know how the cabinet intends to deal with the issue
of the troops´ safety in the new situation. The party´s
spokesman on foreign affairs said they had learned from the fall of
the Bosnian Muslim enclave of Sreberenica, where Dutch peacekeeping
troops were unable to prevent a massacre, and that a UN resolution
has little to do with the safety of military personnel on the
ground.
Labour leader Wouter Bos shares that view. A personal meeting with Prime Minister Balkenende on Thursday evening failed to persuade him to back the cabinet´s plan at this stage. Mr Bos said he first wants to talk to experts about the matter and await next week´s debate in parliament.
Labour Party support is not strictly needed to get the plan
approved, but it´s highly unusual for such an important
decision to be taken without the backing of the main opposition
party. Moreover, Labour´s support would come as a
psychological boost to the troops. With the Iraqi elections on the
horizon, tension and violence in the country is bound to increase,
even in the - so far - relatively calm province of al-Muthanna.
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Tags: al-Muthanna, Apache, Balkenende, Bos, coalition, Dutch troops, Iraq, Japan, June 30, The Hague