WARSAW, 25/09/02 - The Netherlands and Germany want to jointly take over the command of the international military force in Afghanistan (ISAF) from Turkey in January or February, German Defence Minister Struck said yesterday at the NATO summit meeting in the Polish capital of Warsaw. The Dutch government has however not got that far.

"With my Dutch colleague (Minister Benk Korthals), we have proposed here (at the summit) that the First German-Dutch Army Corps should take over command in Afghanistan in January or February," said Struck. But according to Dutch State Secretary for Development Cooperation Agnes van Ardenne, no political agreement has yet been reached within the cabinet on taking over command of ISAF.

Standing in for Foreign Minister Jaap de Hoop Scheffer who was in the US, Van Ardenne told parliament yesterday that among other matters, the question of whether the mandate for ISAF should be extended from Kabul to other large cities in Afghanistan still has to be considered. As well, taking over the command has to be financially feasible, Van Ardenne pointed out, referring to the 816 million euros in savings which the defence ministry has to achieve in the next four years.

Christian Democratic (CDA) parliamentary party leader Verhagen termed it unfortunate that Struck made statements on topics that concern the Netherlands. "It is high time that parliament was informed," he added. The cabinet only told the House in a letter yesterday afternoon that it plans "to investigate the feasibility and desirability of joint German-Dutch leadership of ISAF, and therefore the use of parts of the headquarters of the First German-Dutch Army Corps."

Verhagen did not wish to say yet whether the CDA would be in favour of participation in the ISAF command. Centre-left (D66) parliamentary party leader De Graaf questioned "whether Struck is running ahead to fast, or Korthals too slowly." His party is in principle not against participation in the ISAF command, but De Graaf questions how the plans relate to "the cabinet's wish to reduce the number of peacekeeping missions from four to three". Other parties were not yet available for comment.

Earlier it had already been made known that senior German and Dutch officers were discussing extension of participation in the ISAF force at a technical level. The Netherlands and Germany are currently working together within ISAF in Kabul, with Turkey in command.

If the Netherlands and Germany do indeed take over the command from the Turks, both countries would prefer it to become a NATO operation, allowing use to be made of NATO planning facilities. "That would make the decision-making process in the Netherlands easier," according to a NATO source in Warsaw.