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Diplomat in Afghanistan
Article: New plan for Dutch police mission in Afghanistan
The incoming Dutch government may consider a new military training mission in Afghanistan, according to sources close to the coalition negotiations. Daily NRC Handelsblad reported on Friday that the two parties, free-market liberal VVD...
Article: Uruzgan: coming back or step back?
With his thoughts still with those remaining behind in Afghanistan, Michel Rentenaar arrived back in the Netherlands, just days before the cabinet fell over what has become known as the 'Uruzgan question'. Coming home now feels more like a...
Video: Afghanistan - a diplomat's experiences
With a possible new military role for the Dutch in Afghanistan the topic of feverish debate in The Hague, career diplomat Michel Rentenaar has just returned from that country. He speaks to RNW about his experiences there, the reasons why...
Article: Farewell to Uruzgan
As the end of the mission approaches, General Marc van Uhm and I prepare to hand over command of the Task Force Uruzgan and the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) to our successors. It has been a remarkable time.
Article: The White Compound: a typical Dutch approach
Sometimes I find it difficult to believe that there was fierce fighting here in Uruzgan not so long ago. People who follow events in Uruzgan will remember the battle for Chora. Before the Dutch arrived here in 2006, Taliban fighters had...
Article: Task Force Uruzgan 'last-but-one'
In March last year we began to do what the Dutch military describe as 'build ourselves up' for this mission. Outside of military circles, the normal description would be 'break ourselves in', but the army's terminology gives a more...
Article: Doing or thinking?
Most Dutch soldiers serving in Afghanistan are stationed in Uruzgan province. Michel Rentenaar is the civilian head of Task Force Uruzgan and director of Uruzgan’s Provincial Reconstruction Team. He writes a regular article for Radio...
Article: Death of a child
Michel Rentenaar, Civil Leader of Task Force Uruzgan and Director of the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Uruzgan, describes his emotions in the aftermath of a tragic accident that resulted in the death of an Afghan boy.
Article: Setting up a village council in Afghanistan
Unfortunately, after my leave, I had to go back to the Netherlands because a close friend died. While I was away, summer had turned to winter in Tarin Kowt. The contours of the mountains around us had suddenly become much sharper, the...
Article: VIP visitors in Uruzgan
Uruzgan receives lots and lots of visitors. We could really tell that everybody had gone back to work again after the summer holidays. Now autumn has come in the Netherlands, it seems even more people are dropping in. For example, a few...
