Chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan: Dutch defense minister resigns in turn
Outgoing Defense Minister Ank Bijleveld in a statement to his ministry in The Hague, September 17, 2021. Bart Maat ANP / AFP
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After the Minister of Foreign Affairs on Thursday, the Minister of Defense in turn presented her resignation on Friday.
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With our correspondent in Brussels,
Pierre Benazet
Defense Minister Ank Bijleveld wanted to stay in the Dutch government to "
complete the mission
", namely the evacuation of the Afghan interpreters from the Dutch army.
But the pressure from Parliament had become too intense.
Ank Bijleveld is therefore following in the footsteps of Foreign Minister
Sigrid Kaag
who, for her part, did not wait for an outcry in Parliament to resign.
Sigrid Kaag had also admitted that the Dutch government had "
blind spots
" with regard to the situation in Afghanistan and had not been able to foresee the lightning victory of the Taliban.
A new thorn in the side of Mark Rutte
The other Allied governments had not anticipated it better.
But in the Netherlands ministers have little room for error.
These resignations are also quite paradoxical, because the Batavian army is one of the only ones in the coalition to have mounted a
joint evacuation operation
with an ally, in this case the Belgian army.
Former Foreign Minister Sigrid Kaag is at the head of the centrist party D66.
He could be the key to a future government coalition with Mark Rutte.
Negotiations have been going on for six months and these resignations threaten a quick solution.
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Netherlands
Defense