First I would like to state my gratitude and thanks for this. The troops of Holland have preform well and I have no complaints with them and I am glad to hear they are willing to stay.The Dutch military mission in Afghanistan will be extended by two years, Netherlands Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende has announced.
Dutch troops had been scheduled to leave Afghanistan in summer 2008.
The decision to extend the mission follows a call by al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden for European nations to stop helping US forces in Afghanistan.
Bin Laden said that he - and not the Afghans - was the "only one responsible" for the 9/11 attacks.
Dutch troops are stationed primarily in the southern Uruzgan province of Afghanistan.
Since the Netherlands joined the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) last year, 12 Dutch soldiers have been killed.
Second off, I have no doubts that the Taliban had no idea of Osama's plot to hit the Twin Towers, the Pentagon and other locations on September 11th. They did however, habored him and refused to give him up. Also I need no reason to desire or work towards the overthrow of men who think the proper use of a soccer field is as a spot to publically murder women who commit such "crimes" as going out alone or *gasp* wear makeup under their veils. While the current Afghan government is deeply flawed between appeasing warlords and attempting to put a convert away from Islam to death, there is at least the mechanism within that system for change by means other then mass execution and civil war. If nothing else we can hope that through education and other means the Afghan people themselves decide to embrace freedom of religion and other things (I'm not holding my breath here but it's pretty much all I got.)
I say no peace in Afghan until Al Qeada, the Taliban and all allies of one of the two put down their arms.