NATO: Holland likely to send troops to Afghanistan
By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said Thursday he believed his Dutch countrymen would agree to take a role in a dangerous new mission for the military alliance in Afghanistan.
De Hoop Scheffer, in Paris to meet with French Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie, spoke to reporters before the Dutch parliament was to vote over whether to send troops to southern Afghanistan.
"Given the latest information I have from The Hague, the Dutch parliament will vote tonight with a good majority in favor of Dutch participation in the Uruzgan province" of Afghanistan, he said.
De Hoop Scheffer said the military alliance should expand its operations into more dangerous parts of the war-scarred country to strengthen the fight against terrorism.