The Dutch cabinet is holding to its aim to send more than 1,000 troops to join an extended NATO-led reconstruction effort, but has taken no firm decision, Foreign Minister Ben Bot wrote to parliament Tuesday, DPA reported. The note regarding the controversial deployment was a response to a request from the main opposition Labour Party (PvdA) and others for greater clarity. Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende's three-party coalition government has postponed a decision several times, the cabinet saying at its last meeting on Thursday that it "intended" to deploy the troops to the troubled south central Afghan province of Uruzgan. They are to form part of an extended mission by the NATO-led International Stability Force (ISAF), which is engaged in reconstruction work in Afghanistan. In his letter, Bot said the government would weigh up whether the intended troop contribution would in fact be made after discussion in parliament, which is to debate the issue formally next month. A decision on whether to deploy the 1,200 to 1,400 troops is expected in early February. The smallest party in the government, the D66, has come out against the deployment, placing its two cabinet ministers in an awkward position. A parliamentary delegation is to visit Afghanistan at the beginning of next month to assess the situation.
