AP Headlines

Dutch Government Collapses Over Its Stance on Troops for Afghanistan

2010-02-21T00:09:00.001+01:00

last-ditch effort to keep Dutch troops in Afghanistan brought down the governing coalition in the Netherlands early Saturday, immediately raising fears that the Western military coalition fighting the war is increasingly at risk.

“If the Dutch go, which is the implication of all this, that could open the floodgates for other Europeans to say, ‘The Dutch are going, we can go, too,’ ” said Julian Lindley-French, professor of defense strategy at the Netherlands Defense Academy in Breda. “The implications are that the U.S. and the British are going to take on more of the load.”

The collapse of the Dutch government comes as the Obama administration continues to struggle to get European allies to commit more troops to Afghanistan to bolster its attempts to win back the country from a resurgent Taliban. President Obama has made the Afghan war a cornerstone of his foreign policy and, after months of debate, committed tens of thousands more American troops to the effort.

Read more >> | The New York Times

Dutch government collapses over Afghanistan

2010-02-20T23:07:00.001+01:00

he Dutch government collapsed in the early hours of Saturday morning over Labour's insistence that the Netherlands pull out of Afghanistan this year.

After two days of intensive talks and a bitter parliamentary debate, it had become increasingly clear the gulf between prime minister Jan Peter Balkenende and deputy prime minister Wouter Bos was too great to bridge.

Labour leader Bos stated earlier this week that he wanted a decision on Nato's request to the Netherlands to stay in Afghanistan at Friday's cabinet meeting. And that decision would have to be a no, he said repeatedly.

Balkenende said he wanted to keep all options open and was sticking to the March 1 deadline.

Read more >> | DutchNews.nl - Dutch government collapses over Afghanistan

See also >> | Dutch cabinet, Balkenende's fourth, collapses - NRC-Hamdelsblad

See also >> | Dutch government falls over Afghanistan mission

Emergency debate on Afghanistan today

2010-02-18T19:09:00.001+01:00

rime minister Jan Peter Balkenende and deputy premier Wouter Bos will debate the future of the Dutch mission in Afghanistan in parliament this afternoon, as speculation grows that the cabinet is about to collapse.

The debate was called by Socialist Party leader Agnes Kant, who said she wanted to get to the bottom of the mixed messages being sent out by ministers.

Labour party leader Wouter Bos said on Wednesday he will categorically not support any extension to the Dutch mission in Afghanistan, despite the formal request by Nato. And he wants minister to say a final no to Nato after Friday's cabinet meeting.

But Balkenende wants Dutch soldiers to stay on past August to train local forces. 'All options are open,' the Christian Democratic party leader said.

Read more >> | DutchNews.nl - Emergency debate on Afghanistan today

Cabinet in crisis over Afghanistan

2010-02-18T09:44:00.001+01:00

he future of the coalition government is in doubt on Thursday morning, after Labour leader and deputy prime minister Wouter Bos said he would definitely not support a continuation of the Dutch mission in Afghanistan, despite a Nato request.

Newspapers are united that the government is in trouble. 'The cabinet is in crisis, the collapse nears' is the headline in the Telegraaf following yesterday's ministerial meeting at which Bos restated his position.

'The last solider must have left Uruzgan at the end of the year. We are keeping our promise to the man in the street,' Bos told reporters after the meeting.

Read more >> | DutchNews.nl - Cabinet in crisis over Afghanistan

Dutch PM survives motion of no confidence

2010-02-17T23:09:00.002+01:00

an Peter Balkenende has enough support in parliament to stay in office, but his problems are far from over.

For the first time in Dutch parliamentary history on Tuesday, a prime minister was confronted with a motion of no confidence that targeted him personally. Opposition members of parliament accused Jan Peter Balkenende of undermining public trust in the government.

The Christian democratic prime minister survived the motion though, as a majority of the lower house still supports him: the motion was rejected 96 to 40.

Tuesday's parliamentary debate over the findings of a special committee that investigated the reasoning behind the Dutch support for the US led invasion of Iraq in 2003 was special for another reason. The meeting closed the book on the issue after seven years, sixteen debates and ten motions that asked for an inquiry into the Dutch involvement and the Davids report that resulted from it.

Read more >> | NRC- Handelsblad International

The Kingdom and the Afghan Chaos

2010-02-17T23:00:00.002+01:00

n his quest to stabilize his country, Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karzai, dressed in white robes, arrived last week in Mecca on what can only be called a diplomatic pilgrimage. Although Karzai undoubtedly spent time praying at Islam’s holiest site, his mission was intended to prove more than his piety.

So what diplomatic or financial gain was Karzai seeking? Why travel to Saudi Arabia at the very moment that US President Barack Obama’s military surge has become operational? Can Saudi Arabia play a serious role in resolving his country’s increasingly bloody conflict?

By Mai Yamani

Read more >> | The Kingdom and the Afghan Chaos - Project Syndicate

Labour says final 'no' to Afghanistan

2010-02-17T15:15:00.001+01:00

abour leader Wouter Bos has said a final no to any further role for Dutch soldiers in Afghanistan, forcing a potential cabinet crisis.

Nato has asked the Netherlands to stay past the August 2010 deadline in a training role. But, after a meeting with other ministers on Wednesday morning, Bos said Labour would definitely oppose an extension to the Dutch mission at Friday's cabinet meeting.

Bos said his no vote is keeping the Labour party's promise to voters. 'That means there must be a negative response to Nato's request. That decision can be taken on Friday,' he said.

Bos refused to say if the decision meant the cabinet was close to collapse.

Read more >> | DutchNews.nl - Labour says final 'no' to Afghanistan

Speculation on the demise of the euro

2010-02-15T21:25:00.001+01:00

ith the euro under siege, some economists are arguing for radical solutions, like splitting the currency in two.

Can the euro fall after all? Until recently, the scenario seemed unthinkable, but now that the European monetary union is falling apart at the seams, it suddenly seems realistic. Only 11 years after it was introduced to the financial markets, the currency has become the plaything of currency traders.

Read more >> | nrc.nl - International - Europe - Speculation on the demise of the euro

The Greek Crisis and Beyond

2010-02-15T09:54:00.008+01:00

s euro-zone leaders face growing uncertainty in financial markets about the public finances of Greece and other member countries, their statements, albeit somewhat vague, underscore a much larger story – one that will force firms and investors to question their assumptions about Europe’s economic, financial, and political environment.

Let’s first dispense with a powerful emerging myth. Greece’s troubles have encouraged some to wonder aloud if the euro zone can survive its growing internal imbalances. But such doubts ignore the political and cultural factors that buttress a deep European commitment to preserve the monetary union.

By Ian Bremmer

Read more >> | The Greek Crisis and Beyond - Project Syndicate

See also >> | Q&A With Ian Bremmer on State Capitalism - Foreign Affairs

See also >> | The Guardian

Recommended >> |

Climate Science or Climate Evangelism?

2010-02-15T09:35:00.004+01:00

s George W. Bush and Tony Blair learned the hard way, the public does not take kindly to being misled about the nature of potential threats. The after-the-fact revelation that the reasons for invading Iraq were vastly exaggerated – and in some cases completely fabricated – produced an angry backlash that helped toss the Republicans out of power in the United States in 2008 and may do the same to Britain’s Labour Party later this year.

A similar shift in global public opinion is occurring with respect to climate change. The process picked up momentum late last year, after hackers leaked thousands of e-mails from a top British research facility showing that some of the world’s most influential climatologists had been trying to disguise flaws in their work, blocking scrutiny, and plotting together to enforce what amounts to a party line on climate change. More recently, the United Nations’ respected advisory group, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), has been deeply embarrassed by the revelation that some alarming predictions contained in an influential report that it released in 2007 have little or no scientific basis.

Although none of these lapses provides any reason to doubt that global warming is real, is man-made, and will create problems for us, these challenges to the IPCC are taking their toll. Indeed, recent surveys show that the public is growing steadily less trusting of the scientific consensus on global warming.

By Bjørn Lomborg

Read more >> | Climate Science or Climate Evangelism? - Project Syndicate

Nato troop request sparks political row

2010-02-13T10:11:00.001+01:00

conflict has again erupted in the Dutch governing coalition over the Afghanistan mission.

The Dutch governing coalition partners, Christian democrat CDA and Labour, have always disagreed on the best approach for Afghanistan and the role of the Dutch military there. Following an official request by Nato to extend the Dutch deployment in the war-torn country, two ministers are now involved in a public quarrel. Finance minister Wouter Bos and foreign affairs minister Maxime Verhagen have accused each other of disregard for the cabinet’s position on the matter.

Read more >> | nrc.nl - International - Nato troop request sparks political row

EU leaders unified in eurozone's defence

2010-02-12T14:43:00.002+01:00

reece told that any future financial aid would be conditional on economic reform

European Union leaders emerged from their summit in Brussels today asserting the unity of the eurozone, having told Greece that any future financial aid would be conditional on implementing budget cuts and economic reform.

The government leaders agreed to task their finance ministers with drawing up detailed plans of how financial support might be provided, in the event that Greece asks for it.

Read more >> | EU leaders unified in eurozone's defence | Policies | Economics | Management | European Voice

Scientists Respond to IPCC Backlash

2010-02-12T12:42:00.002+01:00

ifty-five scientists from the Netherlands released the following open letter about the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and errors discovered in its 2007 report on climate change.
In the letter, they explain how the IPCC works, and how the errors drawing so much attention "do not alter the key finding that human beings are very likely changing the climate, with far reaching impacts in the long run."

Read more >> | Solve Climate

See also >> The scientist letter pdf

Ministers clash over Nato Afghanistan letter

2010-02-12T12:27:00.001+01:00

oreign minister Maxime Verhagen and deputy prime minister Wouter Bos appear to be heading for a showdown over Nato's call for the Netherlands to stay longer in Afghanistan.

Bos, who is leader of the Labour party, and the Christian Democrat Verhagen both outlined their position on different tv talk shows on Thursday night.

Read more >> | DutchNews.nl - Ministers clash over Nato Afghanistan letter

Training Afghan soldiers can be a violent endeavour

2010-02-11T13:56:00.001+01:00

he Dutch government is divided about extending its military presence in Afghanistan. Sending instructors to train Afghan soldiers is an option under consideration. But training and fighting go hand in hand.

Read more >> | nrc.nl - International - Features - Training Afghan soldiers can be a violent endeavour

Sick children stuck in bureaucacy

2010-02-10T11:14:00.002+01:00

New York Times report from Haïti.

Iraq and the fig-leaf of just war theory

2010-02-10T11:02:00.000+01:00

Discussing the Chilcot Inquiry into the invasion and occupation of Iraq on BBC Radio 5 on 20 January this year, John Rentoul, quoting Nick Cohen, challenged ‘the anti-war mob’, and more specifically Philippe Sands, to tell him how any war could be ‘illegal’. Cohen, like Rentoul, is an apologist for the Iraq War, petulant about critics who insist it was illegal. His petulance, elaborated in the article quoted below, is rooted in his (entirely correct) insistence that the murderous Sadaam Hussein regime was itself acting in ways which were plainly illegal. But my concern isn’t with whether two wrongs make a right. Rather it’s with Cohen’s ‘simple question’:

I am growing old and grey waiting for John Humphrys or Jon Snow to show a spark of journalistic life and ask Nick Clegg, Philippe Sands and all the rest of them the simple question: "What do you mean by an 'illegal war'?"

Read more >> | openDemocracy

U.S. Eyes Tougher Sanctions Over Iran Nuclear Program

2010-02-10T11:01:00.001+01:00

he Obama administration is working on a series of sanctions that would take aim at the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps of Iran, publicly singling out the organization’s vast array of companies, banks and other entities in an effort to curb Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.

Senior White House officials described what they said would be a “systematic” effort to drive a wedge between the Iranian population and the Revolutionary Guards, which the West says is responsible for running Iran’s nuclear program and has a record of supporting militant Islamist organizations and cracking down on antigovernment protesters.

Read more >> | The New York Times

Nato chief: Afghanistan is only the beginning

2010-02-09T19:02:00.001+01:00

ato has to play a bigger role in the world by collaborating with countries outside the alliance, Nato chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen told NRC Handelsblad. "Security is unimaginable without partners."

Nato secretary general Anders Fogh Rasmussen is the first to admit the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation has problems. For years, the alliance has underestimated the complexity of war and now it is also facing financial issues.

Read more >> | nrc.nl - International - Features - Nato chief: Afghanistan is only the beginning

Cabinet admits Iraq war mistakes

2010-02-09T18:41:00.001+01:00

he cabinet has admitted MPs could have been better informed about security service 'doubts and conjectures' about Iraq's supposed weapons of mass destruction in the run-up to the 2003 invasion.

And, in their formal response to last month's highly critical Davids commission report, ministers say they should have been more open about the US request for assistance prior to the war.

The Netherlands supported the invasion politically on the grounds that Saddam Hussein was breaking UN resolutions but did not send troops.

Read more >> | DutchNews.nl - Cabinet admits Iraq war mistakes

Ex-Lehman trader says EU should crack down on big banks

2010-02-09T13:21:00.001+01:00

nstead of addressing fundamental issues like the role of finance, politicians seem stuck in assuaging public anger, argues Sony Kapoor, a financial adviser to the EU and ex-Lehman Brothers derivates trader, in an interview with EurActiv.

Kapoor, whose think-tank Re-Define has been consulted by the European Parliament and the European Commission on financial regulation, says world leaders have so far shown a lack of vision in reshaping the post-crisis financial system, arguing that it will be up to the EU's competition authorities to clean up.

Outside Brussels, national leaders are missing the bigger picture, says Kapoor, though some have come up with "politically palatable" proposals.

Read more >> | EurActive

Europe loses seat at top table

2010-02-09T10:28:00.002+01:00

n Washington they're not sure who's in charge. In Brussels they're squabbling. Ian Traynor reports on the EU's crisis of confidence

Read more >> | The Guardian

See also >> | Tough snub - ECFR

Iran starts processing nuclear fuel towards weapons-grade strength

2010-02-09T10:20:00.001+01:00

ran today started to enrich its existing nuclear fuel stockpile towards weapons grade strength.

The move caused international alarm and gave new impetus to Western calls for new sanctions on Tehran despite opposition from China, which insists that negotiations could still succeed.

"Today we started to make 20 per cent enriched nuclear fuel... in the presence of IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) inspectors at Natanz," an unnamed official told Iran's Arabic-language state television, al Alam.

Read more >> | Iran starts processing nuclear fuel towards weapons-grade strength - Times Online

341,956 of blank EU travel documents in criminal hands

2010-02-09T10:11:00.001+01:00

classified Dutch government report has revealed that criminals stole 341,956 passports, identity cards, visa stickers and drivers' licences from European government facilities since 2000.

Read more >> | nrc.nl - International - 341,956 of blank EU travel documents in criminal hands

The Euro’s Final Countdown?

2010-02-09T09:58:00.003+01:00

he introduction of the euro in 1999, it was claimed, would narrow the economic differences between the member countries of the monetary union. Unemployment rates would converge, as would other important macroeconomic variables, such as unit labor costs, productivity, and fiscal deficits and government debt. Ultimately, the differences in wealth, measured in terms of income per capita, would diminish as well.

After the common currency’s first decade, however, increased divergence, rather than rapid convergence, has become the norm within the euro area, and tensions can be expected to increase further.

Read more >> | The Euro’s Final Countdown? - Project Syndicate

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