Final evaluation Netherlands participation in ISAF 2006 - 2010

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This was the first time the armed forces had conducted an expeditionarymission of this scope in such a remote and inaccessible province. Thesecurity situation was poor at the outset, the population lived in severepoverty and there was no good governance of any form in place. Themission involved undertaking activities in various areas.The military personnel, diplomats and other civilian employees oftenoperated in very difficult circumstances. They did so professionally and withgreat endeavour, which was of vital importance to the mission. Four yearswas not long enough, however, to enable the Afghan authorities to takecare of security, good governance and development themselves. Theprogress which has been made is not irreversible. Dutch personnel have,therefore, endeavoured to hand over their achievements and theirknowledge and experience to their successors. The government is confidentthat the achievements will be built upon in the years to come.Both with regard to materiel and in terms of finances, the participation inthis mission has had a greater impact than had been calculated at the start.It was difficult to formulate specific objectives and indicators beforehand,which complicated the measuring of results after the mission. Thegovernment indicated from the outset that the Netherlands would make avaluable contribution, but that a comprehensive result in all areas would notbe feasible, given the context of Afghanistan. There was nonetheless astrong desire to achieve concrete, discernible results quickly. In reality,however, insufficient account had been taken beforehand of the localcircumstances and the great complexity of the problems in Uruzgan.The knowledge and insights gained during the missions led to theadjustment of parameters and assumptions. This is illustrated by the shiftin focus in the Article 100 letter of 2007; greater emphasis was placed oncapacity-building for the army and police, and so-called ‘Afghanisation’. Thelearning ability proved great over the years; even during the mission itself anumber of lessons learned were already put into practice.The departure of the Dutch forces has not heralded an end to our ties withUruzgan. Our contribution to the socio-economic development of Uruzganwill continue, at least until 2014. This will allow for the achievements to beconsolidated. In addition, the Dutch efforts are focused on the transition,i.e. the transfer of responsibilities to the Afghan authorities. To this end, anintegrated police training mission is being deployed in northern Afghanistan.The developments in Uruzgan will, however, continue to be monitored witha specific sense of responsibility.6.2 Conclusions6.2.1 Aim of the evaluationThe aim of this final evaluation is to assess the extent to which theobjectives of the Dutch participation in ISAF have been achieved. Anothergoal is to identify lessons from the Dutch deployment. The focal points ofthe 2009 Review Protocol will be included in that process. For the Ministryof Defence, this evaluation also serves as a policy assessment.Page 98 of 133
The first part of the central question of this evaluation is:To what extent have the objectives of the Dutch contribution to ISAF,during the 2006-2010 period been achieved, given the parameters andassumptions.The Article 100 letter of 2005 stated that the main objective of the Dutchdeployment was aimed at ‘enabling the Afghan authorities to take care ofsecurity, good governance and development mainly without help’. Thisobjective was elaborated upon in the same letter. The Netherlands wouldimprove stability and security in Uruzgan by ‘increasing the support for theAfghan authorities among the local population and weakening the supportfor the Taliban and related groups’.The second part of the central question of this evaluation is:‘What lessons can be drawn from the Netherlands' participation in ISAF?’Best practices and lessons regarding the Dutch deployment are drawn fromthe general conclusions.The sub-questions are as follows:1. What was the policy underpinning the Netherlands’ participation inISAF in the spheres of security, good governance and socio-economicdevelopment?2. How was the Netherlands’ policy in the spheres of security, goodgovernance and socio-economic development implemented inpractice?3. What has been achieved with respect to the objectives in thespheres of security, good governance and socio-economicdevelopment?Objective of the Dutch participation in ISAFFrom the outset of the mission, it was clear that creating stability andsecurity is not possible without more efficient governance and socioeconomicdevelopment. This was formulated as follows in the Article 100letter of 2005:“In accordance with the ISAF mandate, the Netherlands detachment willfocus on promoting stability and security by increasing support for theAfghan authorities among the local population and by weakening supportfor the Taliban and related groups. Promoting good governance, an efficientpolice and army and the rule of law, performing CIMIC and reconstructionactivities, and promoting reconstruction activities by others are importantelements of this approach.”This was put into practice by providing protection to the civilian population,giving an impulse to the reconstruction, enhancing the local administrationand improving the living conditions of the population. Dutch policy wascharacterised by the 3D approach, in which the military, diplomatic anddevelopment efforts in Uruzgan were coordinated wherever possible. Themission was based on the assumption that there could be no reconstructionwithout better security, and that sustainable improvement of the securitysituation depended on the progress made in the area of reconstruction. Thiswould require the involvement of various ministries, as well as private andnon-governmental organisations.6.2.2 Introduction to the sub-conclusionsBefore discussing the achievements in the province of Uruzgan, it isimportant to note that the results in Uruzgan should be placed in a widercontext. The goals of the Afghan authorities and the internationalPage 99 of 133
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Final evaluationNetherlands contrib
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High mountainsLow mountainsPlains a
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Table of ContentsDutch military per
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Dutch military personnel deceased i
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1 IntroductionThe government would,
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The structure of the final evaluati
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2 The international presence in Afg
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insurgents in, particularly, the ea
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3 Netherlands policy for participat
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Netherlands’ presence. Furthermor
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“The objectives of this stabilisa
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In December 2005, the Netherlands g
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The expectation is that meaningful
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3.6.2 Implementation of national pr
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4 Implementation of the mission and
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tasks to fulfil in the area of secu
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such as the Bushmaster, that was be
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Afghan partner unit, at all times o
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northern part of Deh Rawod in 2007.
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in large and small bases, while con
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previously thought and comprised a
Page 45 and 46:
Apart from facilitating training an
Page 47 and 48: If operations in close proximity of
Page 49 and 50: As previously mentioned, the preven
Page 51 and 52: - Between 2006 and 2010, the number
Page 53 and 54: government of Chora in January 2010
Page 55 and 56: At the beginning of the Dutch missi
Page 57 and 58: intermediary of TLO and political a
Page 59 and 60: interest for filling judicial posit
Page 61 and 62: During the Uruzgan mission, a great
Page 63 and 64: structurally change governance in U
Page 65 and 66: development programmes. Before the
Page 67 and 68: also the way in which Afghans perce
Page 69 and 70: tailored to the real needs of the p
Page 71 and 72: Gizab had increased and there was a
Page 73 and 74: The DCU programme devoted and still
Page 75 and 76: purpose of these loans, cooperative
Page 77 and 78: In view of the lack of enthusiasm a
Page 79 and 80: 5 Expenditure for the mission and i
Page 81 and 82: Overview of long-term expenditure a
Page 83 and 84: expenditure related to the deployme
Page 85 and 86: Multi-year expenditure, Foreign Aff
Page 87 and 88: explosive ordnance disposal, armour
Page 89 and 90: this situation as constraining, for
Page 91 and 92: organised at a later stage. In addi
Page 93 and 94: occupational social workers and the
Page 95 and 96: Mercedes Benz terrain vehicle, the
Page 97: 6 ConclusionsThis chapter begins wi
Page 101 and 102: At the end of 2005, the Afghan auth
Page 103 and 104: province. This, too, was done by me
Page 105 and 106: area, increased sales of agricultur
Page 107 and 108: ISAF and the OEF led to extra coord
Page 109 and 110: d. The recommendations from advisor
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Page 113 and 114: Annex A, Afghanistan Compact Benchm
Page 115 and 116: end-2010, reforms will strengthen t
Page 117 and 118: Afghan Cultural HeritageA comprehen
Page 119 and 120: Private Sector Development and Trad
Page 121 and 122: Annex B, Results of the socio-econo
Page 123 and 124: EducationTLO data:• In 2006 there
Page 125 and 126: Overview of the number of children
Page 127 and 128: Annex C, Chronology200522 December:
Page 129 and 130: July: microcredit provider World Co
Page 131 and 132: Annex D, List of abbreviations3DADZ
Page 133: Page 133 of 133
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