Labour's leader, and Deputy Prime Minister, Wouter Bos reiterated his party's opposition to any further Dutch troops — and demanded that position was recognized by the government by Friday, after the weekly Cabinet meeting.

NATO’s International Security and Assistance Force wants to extend its mission in Afghanistan for another year, and has requested extra manpower and resources.

However, on Feb. 9, the government said NATO's Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen had formally requested Dutch forces to remain active in Uruzghan until August 2011, in order to train local security staff.

The government, which is deeply divided over the issue, said it would take a decision before March 1.

The largest coalition party, the Christian Democrats, would like the army to remain in Afghanistan. In addition to Labour, the smaller Christian Union also rejects any extension of the mission.

However, both Labour and Christian Democrats have kept a silence over whether they are prepared to topple the coalition over the Afghanistan mission.

According to opinion polls, both parties would lose out substantially if fresh general elections were held now.

The Christian Democrats would drop from 41 to 34 seats, while Labour would go from 33 to 20 seats. Only the smallest coalition party, Christian Union, would grow from 6 to 8 seats.

The biggest winner in the elections would be the rightist Freedom Party, notorious for its critical views on Islam and migrants.

The Freedom Party, which now has nine seats in Parliament, would instantly become the second largest party with 24 seats.

The Freedom Party opposes an extension of the military mission in Uruzghan, arguing the money of that mission should be spent in the Netherlands.

The Netherlands is due to withdraw its troops from Uruzghan by the end of 2010. It has some 1,880 troops in Afghanistan, 1,250 of them stationed in Uruzghan. The Dutch ISAF mission, which started in 2006 and was extended in 2008, is due to end in August.

Twenty-one Dutch soldiers have died in Afghanistan since 2006.