[Het
Parool, The Netherlands]
NRC Handelsblad, The Netherlands
Robert Gates: A Very 'Candid' Speaker …
"Gates read the riot act to
his European allies … Even if Gates' comments are counterproductive and invite
jokes concerning Vietnam and other less-successful U.S. anti-guerilla
operations, his observations are essentially true."
EDITORIAL
Translated by Jan de Nijs
January 17, 2008
The
Netherlands - NRC Handlesblad - Original Article
(Dutch)
It's not often that the Dutch
Government summons the American Ambassador. That achievement goes to Defense
Minister Van Middelkoop (of the conservative
Christian Union Party). The reason? An interview with
the American Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, in the Los Angeles Times 
. In the
interview, Gates read the riot act to his European allies.
NATO troops in Southern
Afghanistan are unable to effectively combat the Taliban. According to him, the
Americans in eastern Afghanistan are much more effective. Gates said:
"Most of the European forces, NATO forces, are not trained in
counterinsurgency; they were trained for the Fulda Gap ,"
referring to the German region where NATO once expected a Red Army invasion of
Western Europe.
The Pentagon immediately
sought to sooth Van Middelkoop. Gates, it was said,
had only meant that NATO as a whole is not well-equipped to deal with a
guerilla war. That has calmed tempers.
But this watered-down
interpretation of Gates’ words isn't credible. It's abundantly clear that the
Secretary has put into words thoughts that prevail in the Pentagon. Even if
Gates' comments are counterproductive and invite jokes concerning Vietnam and
other less-successful U.S. anti-guerilla operations, his observations are
essentially true. Ever since the Fulda Gap lost its
relevance, it has been the United States that in Kuwait, Yugoslavia and
elsewhere has had to do the heavy lifting. They also carry they carry the
heaviest load in Afghanistan, both financially and in terms of personnel. On
top of that, the Americans display a steeper learning curve.
But the quick watering down
of Gates' comments by the Pentagon is particularly unfortunate for another
reason. The judgments of Gates prove again that the American government
considers the mission in Afghanistan one of pure counterinsurgency. For Washington,
there's only a single mission: Operation Enduring Freedom. It regards the
development mission of the International Security Assistance Force, in which
Dutch soldiers participate, subordinate. “Mission creep,” as it is called in
the jargon, is when different military missions begin to overlap. And it is
this duplication that always leads to tensions within NATO. Disagreements over
what priority to give destruction of the poppy fields is the issue that has
most caught the attention of The Netherlands.
The interview with Gates has
thus exposed a serious political difference of opinion at the heart of NATO - a
potential conflict which can no longer continue to fester. This year there will
be two opportune moments to settle the differences between the U.S. and Europe
within NATO. The American government wants to appoint a kind of “super-envoy”
for Afghanistan. British politician Paddy Ashdown has been mentioned,
specifically because he played a similar role in the Balkans.
His appointment shouldn't wait
another day. Furthermore, NATO is organizing a convention to thoroughly
consider the future of Afghanistan later this year in Bucharest. It's still not
too late to stop the “mission creep.” And for that, we must thank the candid
Robert Gates.
Click Here for
Dutch Version
