Afghans warn Dutch over pull-out

The governor of the Afghan province of Uruzgan is pleading with the Dutch government not to withdraw its deployment of 1,300 troops from the region next summer, warning that the Netherlands would be pulling out with its "job only half finished".

As the Obama administration ponders whether to send about 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan next year, on the ground there is mounting concern that other Nato forces are preparing to reduce their presence.

In Uruzgan, a province of about 360,000 people in southern Afghanistan, the Dutch government's decision to pull out of the region is causing consternation among local officials, who fear it will create uncertainty at a critical moment in the region's economic development.

In an interview with the FT, Asadullah Hamdam, the governor of the province, said he has been pleading with the Dutch government to reverse the decision, which will see the Netherlands end its role as lead nation in the Uruzgan provincial reconstruction team (PRT) from August 1, 2010.

According to Dutch officials in Uruzgan, the implications of the decision have not yet been spelled out by the Netherlands government. But they said it is almost certain to mean the Dutch withdrawing its 1,300 troops from the province, and might even see all Dutch officials pulling out of the PRT as well.

Speaking in his headquarters in the Uruzgan capital, Tarin Kowt, Mr Hamdam told the FT: "The people of Uruzgan are very familiar with the Dutch - they have spent a lot of time here - and they are asking them to stay. We are very happy with what the Dutch security forces have done here. If they do leave, it will mean they are going at

an important time and

with their job only half

finished."

The Dutch decision is also causing concern at Nato headquarters in Brussels. A senior official said: "The Dutch have achieved a lot in the last three years and we hope they reverse their decision. If they stick with the decision to withdraw, it will have important consequences, not least because it will encourage Canada to press ahead with withdrawal from the Nato mission in 2011."

Uruzgan presents serious security challenges for the Dutch military, even if they are not on the scale faced by US and British troops in neighbouring Helmand. The Dutch have lost 21 troops since 2006, according to the website icasualties.org, and there is still a significant Taliban presence on the outskirts of Uruzgan.

Yet the Dutch military has gone to considerable lengths to gain the confidence of locals with carefully calibrated patrolling of the province. "We recently started doing patrols on bicycles in Tarin Kowt," said a senior Dutch official. "The population was surprised but they reacted positively. It is much easier to come into contact with people on a bicycle than sitting on a Bushmaster [protected mobility vehicle]."

The Netherlands has made significant progress dealing with the province's challenging economic circumstances over the past three years. Uruzgan has a 90 per cent illiteracy rate and only 20 per cent of government posts are filled. "Even the director of education here does not read or write," said the same official, "which gives you some idea of how difficult it is to turn this province round."

Even so, there have been improvements in Uruzgan's governance. For example, the number of locals in the Afghan police force has risen from zero to 1,600 since 2006.

"Uruzgan was the only province in Afghanistan where every polling station was open for the first round off the elections," said a Dutch military officer. "But the security challenge remains and our job is not yet done. If we pull out, Nato will have to supply a certain number of troops in our place. Which country will do that, I don't know."

www.ft.com/afghanistan