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Brussels (AFP) Feb 10, 2010 The head of NATO has asked the Netherlands to take on a new training role in Afghanistan and remain at the head of civilian rebuilding work in Uruzgan province, his spokesman said Wednesday. "The secretary general has sent a letter to Prime Minister (Jan Peter) Balkenende asking the Netherlands to consider making a new, smaller contribution," NATO spokesman James Appathurai said. He said that the Dutch contingent was asked to focus "more on training and a managed transition to Afghan lead" from August for one year. Around 1,950 Dutch troops are deployed in Afghanistan, according to NATO figures from December. The Netherlands has had troops in the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) since 2006. The Dutch mission is set to expire this year. While the government, which is divided over the deployment, had announced it would no longer be the lead nation in Uruzgan as of August 1, it is still deciding what form, if any, its involvement will take. "This request is based on a clear assessment by NATO military and civilian personnel that the Dutch mission in Uruzgan is doing an exemplary job and is a benchmark for others," Appathurai said. He added that the Netherlands was not asked to continue to play the lead role in the southern province but that its civil provincial reconstruction team would be requested to stay on. He said another nation would take the military lead role, but declined to name it. The United States, which has been pressuring the Dutch to stay, has most troops in the area and would be a prime candidate. The Netherlands is rethinking its position just as Washington and its allies launch a major military and civilian "surge" into Afghanistan, as part of a new strategy to overcome the Taliban and Al-Qaeda-led insurgency. The US ambassador to NATO said last month that no other nation would be able to do the job as well, given that the Dutch had established close relations with the Afghans in Uruzgan, an area where opium production is also high. Dutch sources said Tuesday that the government was examining a NATO request. Appathurai said the final choice was up to the Dutch government alone, and that NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen is only "trying to inform the Dutch decision, with his view on the way forward." Canada is also set to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan late next year.
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