Minister of Defense Eimert Van middelkoop of Netherlands

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Original source: Rijksvoorlichtigsdienst. The Dutch government agency for information to the public and press
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From 2003 until 2007 Van Middelkoop was a member of the First Chamber of the Netherlands Parliament.
Eimert van Middelkoop was born in Berkel en Rodenrijs on 14 February 1949.
Mr Van Middelkoop was employed from 1971 to 1972 as a lecturer at the Reformed School of Social Work in Zwolle.
On 22 February 2007 Mr Van Middelkoop was appointed Minister of Defence in the fourth Balkenende government.
What I've said and what I have repeated, by the way, in my introductory words this afternoon, and that is, I think, echoing what Minister van Middelkoop said a moment ago, is that Afghanistan is an example, not exclusively, but is an important example where the Allies should show financial, military and political solidarity.
Eimert Van Middelkoop says while the Dutch military contingent continues to make progress in Afghanistan, the Netherlands will not extend its commitment beyond 2010.
Van Middelkoop had planned both to meet Dutch UN observers in the south, and also meet Sudanese government officials in the capital Khartoum.
According to media reports, Defence Minister Eimert van Middelkoop had ruled out any further role for 1,600 Dutch soldiers presently deployed in Afghanistan beyond the end of their mission in 2010.
Noting the achievements by Dutch and Australian forces in containing the threat of Taliban insurgents in Oruzgan province, Mr van Middelkoop said the ISAF needed to match its war-fighting commitment with an equal level of support for the democratically elected Government of Hamid Karzai.
In an open letter released ahead of his visit, Mr van Middelkoop praised the work of Australian troops in Afghanistan.
In an open letter released ahead of his visit, Mr Van Middelkoop said Australia and the Netherlands have been working together in Oruzgan for more than 18 months.
Mr van Middelkoop said both he and Mr Fitzgibbon believed military means alone were not enough to achieve their aims in Afghanistan.
Dutch defense minister Eimert van Middelkoop says that there can be no further cuts in the Netherlands armed forces if the country's military involvement in southern Afghanistan is to continue beyond the previously agreed end date of mid-2008.
Photo: Netherlands MoD "My message is clear: after more than 15 years of cutbacks it is time that the Dutch political scene starts to get used to the idea that more defense spending may be necessary if it is to continue to make a contribution to international peace and security," van Middelkoop said last night at a conference.
After speaking with individual soldiers, Van Middelkoop said he had the impression most people were optimistic about the situation in Afghanistan.
Dutch Defense Minister Eimert van Middelkoop has been refused an entry visa by the Sudanese government just days before he was due to visit the country.
counterpart, Joel Fitzgibbon, in Canberra yesterday.
BRUSSELS, April 8 (Xinhua) -- Dutch Defense Minister Eimert van Middelkoop has been refused an entry visa by the Sudanese government just days before he was due to visit the country, Dutchpaper De Volkskrant reported Tuesday.
Minister Eimert Van Middelkoop was in Kabul ahead of a vote due shortly on extending the Dutch mission beyond the scheduled August 2008 deadline.
Defence Minister Eimert van Middelkoop said this in the Australian capital of Canberra on Tuesday.
Dutch Defense Minister Eimert van Middelkoop has rejected criticism by Afghan President Hamid Karzai that Dutch troops have killed civilians with their artillery strikes, Dutch newspapers reported Tuesday.
Van Middelkoop said Monday that the cannons fired by the Dutch troops were precision weapons aimed at specific targets.
Furthermore, Colonel van Harskamp is the boss in Uruzgan, as Minister Eimert van Middelkoop has pointed out, and therefore - according to the defence minister - whatever he decides is, by definition, correct.
NOORDWIJK, Netherlands, Oct 24, 2007 Dutch Defense Minister Eimert van Middelkoop joined NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer here today in opening a two-day ministerial conference, attended by US.
Van Middelkoop said he looks forward to “some real brainstorming in discussing the challenges our alliance is facing.
Dutch Defense Minister Eimert van Middelkoop has been refused an entry visa by the Sudanese government just days before he was due to visit the country, Dutchpaper De Volkskrant reported Tuesday.
There is no such thing as a free ride to peace and security," Defense Minister Eimert van Middelkoop said in a barely veiled dig at nations that have refused to send troops to Afghanistan's dangerous south.
Van Middelkoop said it was time for some original thinking to emerge from the talks in this blustery North Sea resort.
Dutch Defence Minister Eimert van Middelkoop is expected to announce today, Monday, the assistance of 14 additional Dutch Marechaussees, making a total of 20 Marechaussees coming to the island.