Britain and US prepared to open talks with the Taliban

[babylonsister]

Britain and US prepared to open talks with the Taliban

* Richard Norton-Taylor
* guardian.co.uk, Monday 27 July 2009 21.24 BST



A soldier in Gereshk, Afghanistan as Gordon Brown signalled the end of Operation Panther's Claw, which aimed to drive back the Taliban in the country. Photograph: Peter Byrne/PA Wire


A concerted effort to start unprecedented talks between Taliban and British and American envoys was outlined today in a significant change in tactics designed to bring about a breakthrough in the attritional, eight-year conflict in Afghanistan.

Senior ministers and commanders on the ground believe they have created the right conditions to open up a dialogue with "second-tier" local leaders now that the Taliban have been forced back in a swath of Helmand province.

They are hoping that Britain's continuing military presence in Helmand, strengthened significantly by the arrival of thousands of US troops, will encourage Taliban commanders to end the insurgency. There is even talk in London and Washington of a military "exit strategy".

Speaking at the end of the five-week Operation Panther's Claw in which hundreds of British troops were reported to have cleared insurgents from a vital region in Helmand province, Lieutenant-General Simon Mayall, deputy chief of defence staff, said: "It gives the Taliban 'second tier' room to reconnect with the government and this is absolutely at the heart of this operation."

The second tier is regarded as crucial because they control large numbers of Taliban fighters in Pashtun-dominated southern Afghanistan. The first tier of Taliban commanders – hardliners around Mullah Omar – could not be expected to start talks in the foreseeable future. The third tier – footsoldiers with no strong commitments – are not regarded as influential or significant players.

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jul/27/britain-us-talks-taliban-afghanistan