After the engagement, the King spoke to the media and made a point about how the Netherlands military is “always there” for allies. The monarch also spoke about the importance of training for those who serve in the armed forces, and how important it has been in helping allies over the years.
He said: “We are always there for our allies. Look at Afghanistan. More than 30,000 Dutch military personnel have been deployed there.”
The purpose of NATO, which stands for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, is so allies can defend one another in times of need. The US President said of NATO troops: “We’ve never needed them. We have never really asked anything of them. They’ll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan… and they did, they stayed a little back, a little off the front lines.”
This is something the King of the Netherlands seemed to have disputed in his chat with the media yesterday as he said how 25 Dutch troops died fighting in Afghanistan.
He then said many others still suffer with what they saw on the frontlines.
The King said: “Many still experience daily physical and psychological effects from their time in Afghanistan. And we did all of this for our allies. We stand together with them.”
He said: “In 2001, NATO invoked Article 5 for the first—and only—time in history. It meant that every allied nation was obliged to stand with the United States in Afghanistan, in pursuit of our shared security. Allies answered that call.
“I served there. I made lifelong friends there. And I lost friends there. The United Kingdom alone had 457 service personnel killed. Thousands of lives were changed forever. Mothers and fathers buried sons and daughters. Children were left without a parent. Families are left carrying the cost.
“Those sacrifices deserve to be spoken about truthfully and with respect, as we all remain united and loyal to the defence of diplomacy and peace.”
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.express.co.uk ’
