UNITED NATIONS // Senior members of the US army have discussed the possibility of negotiating with Taliban militants during a week of controversy about future policy in insurgency-wracked Afghanistan. Lt Gen William Caldwell, commander of the army's combined arms centre, said it was possible to target "reconcilable" members of the Afghan insurgency and "bring them back into the fold".
His comments follow UN calls for a political solution and controversial claims from Brig Mark Carleton-Smith, the top British military chief, who warned: "We're not going to win this war." "This is nothing we are finding new in just Afghanistan or Iraq. It is something ? you will see in many other rebellions and insurgencies that have occurred in the past. It is a question of who is reconcilable and who is irreconcilable," Lt Gen Caldwell said.
"I think part of the reason we are seeing such a significant change in Iraq today is because of the ongoing effort that was put forth about a year and a half ago to ? make some hard decisions and go out and engage with folks that were not our friends at that time - and were in fact in opposition to the Iraqi government - to find if there was a way to make them reconcilable and bring them back in." The manual's author, Lt Col Steven Leonard, also discussed which Afghan insurgents were suitable for political reconciliation, adding that a "diplomatic solution tends to preserve the blood and treasure of any country". "You can look in Iraq today and see where they have achieved great success by reaching out to groups that two or three years ago were considered enemies," Lt Col Leonard said. "But at the same time you see where some groups may be considered irreconcilable - that you cannot bring them to the table. "The possibility of striking a political deal with insurgents has been debated for many months, but a recent upsurge in violence has highlighted the importance of securing peace. August became the country's deadliest month since the Taliban was ousted in 2001, with 983 security incidents bringing this year's death toll to 3,800, one-third of them civilians. Violence is compounding a humanitarian situation that has left one-sixth of the population needing assistance.Many believe legitimate elements of the Taliban reflect the views of Afghans and should be represented in the government. This week, Brig Carleton-Smith, Britain's top military commander in Afghanistan, controversially stated that victory over the Taliban was "neither feasible nor supportable". "If the Taliban were prepared to sit on the other side of the table and talk about a political settlement, then that's precisely the sort of progress that concludes insurgencies like this," he told The Sunday Times newspaper. "That shouldn't make people uncomfortable." Robert Gates, the US defence secretary, rejected the brigadier's comments as "defeatist", but added that a peace process could see "reconciliation with people who are willing to work with the Afghan government". Although US and British officials have discussed negotiating with some Taliban elements, this week's comments from Lt Gen Caldwell and his British colleague are among the most senior figures to vaunt the possibility. Their sentiments have been echoed by the UN's special envoy to Afghanistan, Kai Eide, who described "political means" as the only lasting solution. Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary general, later called for "inclusive political dialogue with all the spectrum of Afghanistan". Daniel Markey, a former US State Department official and regional analyst, said public discussion of deal-making with the Taliban by senior US and British officials made such bargaining increasingly likely. "There has always been a desire ? to reconcile elements of the past Taliban regime with the current government in Kabul, including [President Hamid] Karzai, so they could avoid fighting everyone and get many of them on board," Mr Markey said. But the senior fellow from the Council on Foreign Relations said such hard-line insurgents as Mullah Omar, the Afghan Taliban's reclusive leader, would likely be kept out of a reconciliation process. "These Taliban leaders were tied up with al Qa'eda and almost inseparable from al Qa'eda, including Mullah Omar. Bringing them back into power or part of a power-sharing arrangement - if they are essentially still sympathetic to al Qa'eda and would be helping them out - is off-limits for probably any US leader," he said. jreinl@thenational.ae