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Dutch Urged to Increase Afghan Contingent

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer this week urged Dutch politicians to quickly overcome differences holding up plans to send 1,400 troops to join alliance peacekeepers in volatile southern Afghanistan. The expansion would allow the United States to reduce its troop presence in the region.

De Hoop Scheffer is a former Dutch foreign minister, and he warned that a failure of the NATO mission in Afghanistan could open the way for a return of the ousted Taliban regime there, turning Afghanistan once again into a terrorist haven.

There is mounting concern among NATO allies that a Dutch pullout could undermine plans to expand the alliance`s military mission from the country`s relatively stable north and west into the volatile south, where Taliban-led militants are active.