A spokesman for the Taliban in southern Afghanistan has said the Dutch decision to leave the country is a wise one, the NRC reports on Wednesday.

‘It is right and just for the Dutch not to give their lives for American goals’, Qari Yousef Ahmadi told the paper during a telephone interview.
‘The Dutch have realised that they have nothing to gain by being here, their goals are not here so why should they sacrifice themselves?’, the spokesman said.
Ahmadi said he wanted other countries to follow suit. The Netherlands is the first of the 43 countries taking part in the Nato mission to withdraw from Afghanistan.
The Taliban are not afraid the Dutch withdrawal will mean that possible incoming American troops will pose a bigger threat.
‘Every country that comes to Uruzgan to fight awaits the same fate’, the spokesman said. ‘Up to now everybody who has tried to take on the mujahedeen has not fought well. They do not know how to do it. All they do is make notes on how it should be done.’
American attaché Richard Holbrooke said yesterday he hoped the Dutch decision would not be final.