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It suprises me not that this government has fallen, based on the question of Dutch troops in Afghanistan. However there is a little bit more to this. One must remember that in 2007 it was the SP that had won the most votes to enable it to go into government with the PvDA, or the CDA. Both the CDA and PvDA could in no way make an accord with the SP for the simple reason that Jan Marijnson, leader of the SP, was not prepared to negotiate away the promises made to the electorate. The act of the PvDA jumping into bed with the CDA and Christen Unie, has in some way given its supporters a feeling of an act of betrayal. not withstanding the feelings of the people who voted SP.
The question of Afghanistan and the present situation comes about from 9/11, but hold on. No clear evidence has ever been shown to this day that Afghanistan, its people, or even its government, the Taliban, had anything to do with that terrible deed. There is evidence to show that it was an inside job in the USA, constantly pushed under the carpet. So who has created this terrorist threat to the world, Afghanistan or the USA. In my opinion the USA. In 1971 Afghanistan was a peaceful democracy with a parliament, with the king, Zahir Shah as constitutional monarch. I know this to be true as I was there at the time. It was destroyed by a coup in 1972, which was supported by the USA. It was the communist party of Afghanistan that called upon the Soviet Union for military support, there was no invasion, which enraged the tribal leaders and the beginning of the end. In a nutshell, Afghanistan was used and destroyed by western cold war politics and then left totally destitute. What is being done now is a continuation of these same politics by the west and in my view, this is a crime. The Netherlands should have no military troops there, but should try to use its good offices to seek solutions that are acceptable to the Afghans from the poorest to the richest.
NATO is an American war machine and has outlived its day. The Netherlands is one of the founding members of the EU. The EU should have some sort of military defense mechanism, but only for the EU states. Therefore I believe that the EU must come to terms with this and create as fast as possible an EU Defence Force, and a farewell to an American NATO war machine, which has only led the world into conflict, mistrust and bankruptcy.
When the people are once again asked to vote for a new government there may well be some surprises but these surprises may not be those sought for by right wing politics. The PvDA may well lose votes again to the SP, because of what happened in 2007. We could also see a mending of fences between the two parties and wind up with a grand coalition between the two with an inclusion of the Green Party and D66, leaving the right wing parties out in the cold. The US may feel this is a snub to them and their war on the world, but why should that concern us. Let them put their house in order and their finances and keep their noses out of our internal politics, finances and savings of the dutch people.