Majority backs dropping possible anonymity in Afghanistan inquiry

Denmark’s Foreign Policy Committee appears set to reverse its earlier decision and require full openness in the country’s Afghanistan inquiry. The change would remove the option for politicians to have their names withheld from quotations.

The four governing parties hold seven of the committee’s 17 seats. Venstre, the Conservatives and the Red-Green Alliance, which together hold four more seats, have also confirmed their support. That gives opponents of anonymity a majority.

The government parties announced their change of position after a citizen proposal from a veteran opposing possible anonymization gathered more than 50,000 signatures. Parliament Speaker Søren Gade instructed the Folketing administration to quickly sound out all parties so the presidium could consider a new committee recommendation.

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in any case been a strong inspiration

The committee’s chair, Karsten Hønge of the Socialist People’s Party, said the veteran’s proposal had “in any case been a strong inspiration” for the government’s new position. He said the government wanted to reverse the earlier decision so veterans would not have to wait for the proposal to be debated in the parliamentary chamber.

Researchers from the Danish Institute for International Studies prepared the inquiry, which Parliament commissioned in 2021 after Denmark and other countries withdrew from Afghanistan and the Taliban retook control. Parliament’s presidium approved the possibility of anonymous political quotations in May 2026, breaking with earlier practice. Committee members had discussed the Afghanistan mission in confidential meetings for two decades. Forty-four deployed Danish soldiers died during the effort. The committee’s next meeting was scheduled for Friday.

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protect themselves from the public’s eyes