2001: 9/11 2001

Attacks in the United States with impact on the whole world

On September 11, 2001 (9/11), four terrorist attacks occurred in the United States. Two hijacked planes crashed into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York, one plane struck the Pentagon in Washington, and the fourth plane crashed. The attacks are attributed to members of Al-Qaeda, a Muslim fundamentalist paramilitary movement also considered a terrorist organization, which collaborated with the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. In total, nearly 3,000 people lost their lives. The attack had a significant worldwide impact, including in the Netherlands, where attention to terrorism and security increased.

War in Afghanistan and Iraq

After the 9/11 attack, the United States initiated a Global War on Terror and invaded Afghanistan, where Al Qaeda was hiding. The Taliban regime fell within a month, but the mastermind behind 9/11 (Osama bin Laden) was not found in Afghanistan. Subsequently, in March 2003, the United States also initiated a war in Iraq under Saddam Hussein as part of the Global War on Terror. According to the Bush administration, the Iraqi regime also had ties to Al Qaeda.

NATO

Because the attacks on the United States originated from abroad, the U.S. could invoke Article 5 of the NATO treaty ("an attack on one member state shall be considered an attack on all member states"). This meant that the Netherlands, as a NATO ally, also became involved in the Global War on Terror. Initially, this involved providing support far from the battlefield or high in the air, but it gradually expanded to direct military support in Afghanistan itself. On August 1, 2006, the Netherlands even took the lead in an Afghan province: Uruzgan. This mission lasted until the summer of 2010. In Iraq, the Netherlands participated in the stabilization force between 2003 and 2005.

Integrated Police Training Mission

Between 2011 and 2013, the Netherlands conducted an integrated police training mission in Kunduz, Afghanistan. The mission aimed to strengthen the civilian police and the justice chain, as well as enhance cooperation between the two parties. The mission was part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and the EU Police Mission (EUPOL) in Afghanistan. The training was established because responsibility for security in Afghanistan was gradually transitioning from ISAF to the Afghan security apparatus. The training was a part of the transition process, which took place between 2011 and 2014

Developments in the Netherlands

After 9/11, the debate over the integration of Muslims in the Netherlands took a harsh turn. Politician Pim Fortuyn made sharp statements about Islam, and after the murder of Theo van Gogh (by Mohammed B. in the name of Islam), the debate intensified further. Geert Wilders then founded his own political party (Party for Freedom) and portrayed Islam as a fascist ideology.

Withdrawal from Afghanistan

In early 2020, the United States (under the Trump administration) reached an agreement with the Taliban. This agreement stipulated that the U.S. and NATO would withdraw their troops from Afghanistan within 14 months. In the past, this had not been possible because the U.S. insisted that the Afghan government be present during negotiations with the Taliban. This requirement was dropped during Trump's tenure. Ultimately, NATO began withdrawing its troops, including those of the Netherlands, on May 1, 2021. The goal of the U.S. (now under the Biden administration) was to remove all its troops from Afghanistan by September 11, 2021, precisely 20 years after the attacks.

While NATO and U.S. troops were in the process of withdrawing, the Taliban continued to capture more territory in Afghanistan. By mid-August 2021, the Taliban had reached Kabul and declared victory. Many Afghans who had assisted NATO and the U.S. in the past sought to leave the country as quickly as possible out of fear of the punishments they could face from the Taliban. The Netherlands also managed to evacuate a significant number of Afghans, but not everyone. This drew significant criticism from the Dutch Parliament, leading to a motion of censure being passed. As a result, first the outgoing Minister Kaag (Foreign Affairs) and then the outgoing Minister Bijleveld (Defense) resigned from their positions.

Sources:

NICC collection:

A00379: Foreign Affairs - Ten Years After 9/11 -September/October 2011, * (2011).
E00020: Op zoek naar draagvlak, de geïntegreerde politietrainingsmissie in Kunduz, Afghanistan, post-missiebeoordeling - SAMENVATTING, Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken/Directie IOB (2019).
E00022: Eindevaluatie, Geïntegreerde Politietrainingsmissie, Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken (2014).
E00023: Beleidsreactie post-missie beoordeling geïntegreerde politietrainingsmissie Kunduz, Stef Blok, Ank Bijleveld-Schouten, Sigrid A.M. Kaag, Ferd Grapperhaus (2020).