The conventional strategy would have been to build a “platoon house” surrounded by sandbags, razor wire and machinegun posts, as the British did in Helmand province.

However, Colonel Vleugels, commander of the Dutch force in neighbouring Uruzgan province, was convinced that that would antagonise the local population. So he built a qala — a traditional Pashtun home with mud walls and a large reception room where guests are greeted in the local fashion with tea, nuts and dried fruit.

It is designed as a base for Dutch soldiers and as a place for local people — including those close to the Taleban — to air grievances and talk politics.

“You don’t want it to look like a fortress — there has to be a balance between accessibility and defensibility,” Colonel Vleugels said. “You have to be among the people to influence them. By offering them help and work, they can make a choice. If they then decide to fight, we’ll fight back, but that should be a last resort.”

Whereas the British pushed deep into enemy territory in Helmand, only to be surrounded by the Taleban, the Dutch have held back to secure Tarin Kowt and Dihrawud, the two main towns in Uruzgan. They keep their troops on a tight leash and form alliances with tribal leaders.

Most controversially, they are backing Abdul Hakim Munib, the new Governor of Uruzgan, in his efforts to negotiate with the Taleban — something that Nato officially opposes.

“Whenever I find water flowing in the wrong direction, I try to turn it towards ours,” said Mr Munib, 36, a mullah and former Taleban official who is still on the UN Security Council wanted list. “I did work with the Taleban and I’m proud of it — I was working for the stability and prosperity of the nation,” he told The Times. “I don’t want to kill my people. I want to do something for them.” Mr Munib became governor last March. Dutch forces began deploying in August and reached their full strength, of 1,400 troops, in October.

Since August, the Dutch have carried out more than 400 patrols. They have lost one soldier, who committed suicide, and suffered four injuries in combat. Civilian casualties have also been very low, the governor said.

By comparison, British troops lost 36 men in southern Afghanistan last year and the Canadians lost 35 soldiers and one diplomat. President Karzai publicly wept over the number of civilian casualties last month.

Nato officials bristle at the idea that there is a “Dutch model” that might be applicable to Helmand or any other province. “The Dutch are doing what we’d all like to do — we just don’t have the opportunity,” one said.

Some say that the Dutch simply had good luck in their first few months in Uruzgan. Others attribute the relative stability in the south to American special forces who have pinned down the Taleban in the mountainous north of the province.

Some critics accuse the Dutch of surrendering most of Uruzgan to the Taleban without a fight. “Go 5km from the governor’s house and you’re in Taleban territory,” said Naimatullah, 32, who runs a telephone shop in Tarin Kowt. “The old governor used to fight the Taleban. The new one just talks.”

Dutch commanders admit that they are moving slowly — not least because of their bitter memories of peacekeeping in Bosnia, where, in 1995, a Dutch force with poor equipment and a flimsy UN mandate was unable to prevent the massacre of more than 8,300 Bosnian Muslims in Srebrenica.

That led to fierce debate in parliament before the Dutch joined the Nato mission in Afghanistan. As a result, Dutch troops have facilities, equipment and rules of engagement that are the envy of their Nato partners. They eat, sleep and work not in tents but in blast-proof reinforced-steel containers. They have their own air support of eight Apache helicopters and seven F16 fighters. They have wi-fi internet access throughout their base at Camp Holland. They patrol Tarin Kowt once a day and when their reconstruction teams venture out they are well protected by escorts.

The Dutch have studied closely the the complex tribal, political, family and financial ties that govern Afghan society. Each soldier has a course in Afghan culture, including a visit to a mosque and dinner in a Dutch Afghan’s home. Dutch commanders display an understanding of Afghan society that is rare among their Nato partners.

“Everything has been done with great respect for local culture, traditions and tribal leaders — that has had a positive impact,” Mr Munib said.

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