On February 20, 2010 the Dutch coalition government collapsed over disagreements within the government on extending the Dutch military presence in Afghanistan beyond December 1, 2010. Nearly 2000 Dutch troops will be coming home by the December date. It was a political decision.
On March 18, 2003, the Bush administration began the invasion of Iraq. Well over one million of our troops were to serve in Iraq. Approximately 100,000 are still there. That was also a political decision.
So, “what’s the commonality; what’s the point?” you might ask.
An article in the Dutch NRC Handelsblad discussing the withdrawal of Dutch troops from Uruzgan (The province where the Dutch troops are responsible for security and rebuilding) shows a photograph of the Commander of the Dutch armed forces kneeling in front of a wheelchair-bound, injured Afghanistan veteran to award him a medal.
The soldier is one of 1,900 who have already returned from Afghanistan and were being honored for their service at a ceremony in Den Bosch, the Netherlands.
As evidenced by the decision to withdraw from Afghanistan, the war there is not very popular with the Dutch people. Even less popular was the war in Iraq. As a matter of fact, just a few weeks before the government crisis over Afghanistan, the Dutch government faced another crisis over the Netherlands’ initial involvement in the Iraq war.
But back to the Dutch ceremony.
Another Dutch soldier receiving a medal for his service in Afghanistan was Major Marc Zerstegen.
After receiving his medal, Zerstegen told the Handelsblad: “Personally I think it is a shame the mission will soon stop. I was in Deh Rawood and it was fairly secure there. But politicians decide and they seem to be more concerned with themselves.”
Sadly, this seems to be the case all too often.
In the case of the Dutch mission in Uruzgan, where—according to many sources—the Dutch have been doing some great training and humanitarian work for the Afghan people, Dutch politicians have decided to pull the plug.
On the other hand, American politicians kept pouring more and more of our troops into a war that was ill-conceived, ill-managed and opposed by a vast majority of the American people.
But that’s not really the “commonality” I was talking about.
The commonality between the Dutch and the Americans is the bravery, dedication, professionalism and, so often, the heroism displayed by our respective military.
The commonality is General Peter van Uhm, Commander of the Dutch armed forces, kneeling down to present a medal to a wounded soldier, just as American military leaders honor and respect their troops.
The commonality is that our military, just as the Dutch, will always faithfully serve their country, regardless of the politics and regardless of the unpopularity of the war they are fighting in. That is a very tall order, and that is the point of this story.
The author is a retired U.S. Air Force officer and a writer.