by Stephanie van den Berg
THE HAGUE, Aug 16 (AFP) - The Dutch media on Monday voiced support for the government's stance not to bow to terror after a Dutch soldier was killed in Iraq, but called on The Hague to step up security measures for its troops.
The death at the weekend of the second Dutch soldier to be killed in Iraq made the front page of every paper here Monday.
"Horror and fear after soldier dies" the popular Algemeen Dagblad wrote. Left leaning De Volkskrant headlined: "Troops to stay put after attacks".
The Netherlands reacted with horror to the killing of the soldier but Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende vowed on Sunday that the government would not bow to terror and would maintain its troops in the country.
The Dutch have some 1,300 troops in southern Iraq under British command. Although public opinion in the Netherlands is divided over the issue of troops in Iraq all the papers on Monday backed the government's decision not to withdraw.
"Nobody benefits from an abrupt change of course," De Volkskrant wrote in its editorial.
"The terrorists must be stopped so a safe society can blossom and Iraq can be rebuilt. If that doesn't happen the Iraqi people will be at the mercy of terrorists," the popular rightwing Telegraaf said.
But the media warned that the situation in southern Iraq was getting more dangerous for the Dutch troops there.
"Instead of keeping the peace in an area that was relatively calm, we are now getting involved in the mounting chaos in Iraq of attacks on innocent civilians, persistent resistance and a showdown between the troops of (radical Shiite leader Moqtada) Sadr and the Iraqi government troops along with the United States army," the Christian daily Trouw said.
The Dutch bases in the al Muthanna province are relatively close to Najaf, where Sadr is fighting the Iraqi and US armies.
Trouw insisted that any US action would reflect on the Dutch troops. The mood in Iraq towards the troops can change "drastically" if the holy city of Najaf is severely damaged by the US troops, the paper warned.
Defence Minster Henk Kamp already acknowledged Sunday that the situation in Iraq was getting more dangerous but insisted that the troops would not change their routine.
Dutch troops move through the area in cars that are not armoured, carry out night patrols and often do not wear helmets while on patrol. The jeep carrying the soldier who was killed in Saturday night's attack was not armoured.
The papers criticised Kamp's for not reviewing the security measures.
"An analysis must be done of the Dutch 'vulnerable' way of patrolling, chosen to win the hearts and minds of ordinary Iraqis. Driving a car that is not armoured during night patrol seems overly unsuspecting," according to De Volkskrant.
"Minister Kamp does not want to change the troops' routine but he will have to make sure the soldiers are not taking unnecessary risks," De Telegraaf said.