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British Government raises prospect of holding talks with the Taliban
The Government has raised the prospect of holding political talks with the Taliban and offering an amnesty to insurgents who laid down their arms.
The move came as Gordon Brown flew into Afghanistan to meet British troops and hold talks with General Stanley McChrystal, the US commander of Nato troops in the country.
During the visit, Downing Street officials gave the strongest hint yet that ministers are hoping that an agreement can be forged with local commanders who are less wedded to the Taliban, in a bid to bring the conflict to an end.
There will also be an increase in flights by unmanned surveillance aircraft that provide intelligence to track and target bomb makers.
The Prime Minister said that he hoped that almost another 50,000 Afghan troops will be trained by 2010, taking the number from 90,000 to 134,000 and to 240,000 by 2011.
"A big uplift in Afghan forces is going to be the next stage of the post-election effort," he said.
The move towards reconciliation is a theme which was first raised during the early days of the conflict in Helmand in 2006.
During Mr Brown's visit, a senior British official based in Kabul said: "There are a lot of people out there – and people have used different phrases, David Miliband has said that there were 'People who are sitting on the fence' – who could tip one way or the other. A lot of these guys you would describe as Taliban.
"A large part of the Taliban are not really committed to their agenda. They are just fighting with them for tactical reasons and can be brought back into mainstream life."
The official made clear that any negotiations should be done by the Afghans themselves and not by the British. "It has got to be Afghan leaders. None of us understand the tribal dynamics."
He hinted that a limited form of amnesty for those who co-operate could be on the cards.
"If you have guys fighting alongside the Taliban and they say 'OK, we have had enough', there is an amnesty element to that. In the end, what's going to get these guys is that they need a job."
US officials are reported to have estimated that 70-80 per cent of the Taliban might be open to persuasion.
David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, recently suggested that there may be lower tiers of the Taliban who will negotiate.
The increase in Afghan security forces will also form the basis of a complete review of Nato's strategy in the country which has been carried out by Gen McChrystal and is due to be delivered to Washington in the next two weeks.
The US general, a counter-insurgency specialist, will state in the report that Nato should decrease war fighting operations against the Taliban and root out corruption among local government officials in a renewed effort to win over the "heart and minds" of the population.
In the report the general will criticise the previous military strategy of trying to simply defeat the Taliban and al-Qaeda by the use of "kinetic" or war fighting operations as being "too narrow".
It is also understood that Gen McChrystal will call for greater investment in troops and equipment in Helmand, the area now regarded as the front line in the war against the Taliban and where the majority of British soldiers are based.
But, surprisingly, the report will fall short of directly calling for more troops to be sent to Afghanistan, a decision which will be left to the Pentagon.
Washington insiders, however, have said that it will be implicit in the review that at least an extra 20,000 US or Nato troops will need to be sent if key areas are to be properly addressed.
By the end of the year there will be 100,000 Nato troops in Afghanistan of whom 68,000 will be from the US. Britain is the next largest contributor to the coalition with around 9,000.
Gen McChrystal, a former special forces chief, has also recruited Lieutenant General Sir Graeme Lamb, a former British SAS commander who will head a team in Afghanistan with the sole purpose of trying to negotiate with the Taliban.
Lt Gen Lamb, worked closely with Gen McChrystal in Iraq, and was one of the architects of a strategy which convinced Sunni insurgents to abandon their alliance with al-Qaeda.
Elements of Gen McChrystal's newly-issued "ISAF Commander's Counterinsurgency Guidance," a copy of which has been obtained by The Sunday Telegraph, will be incorporated in his report – serving as a blueprint for the way he wants US, British and other allied units to operate.
In an extraordinarily candid assessment of the situation in Afghanistan, the general baldly states: "We don't have to be stupid or misguided or ineffective to fail – just misguided in our approach".
During Saturday's visit the Prime Minister was keen to dispel allegations that he has let political management of the conflict run adrift in recent weeks.
Mounting troop fatalities have led to calls for ministers to take a tighter grip of the conflict and be more visible.
As if to emphasise his determination to answer this criticism, Mr Brown rolled up his shirt sleeves as he met British troops and paid tribute to their bravery.
He said everything possible was being done to put their safety first and ensure they had every innovation to help them defend themselves against the Taliban.
The Prime Minister toured the British base Camp Bastion. And he looked at new armoured vehicles offering more protection to soldiers from roadside bombs.
The Government has raised the prospect of holding political talks with the Taliban and offering an amnesty to insurgents who laid down their arms.
The move came as Gordon Brown flew into Afghanistan to meet British troops and hold talks with General Stanley McChrystal, the US commander of Nato troops in the country.
During the visit, Downing Street officials gave the strongest hint yet that ministers are hoping that an agreement can be forged with local commanders who are less wedded to the Taliban, in a bid to bring the conflict to an end.
There will also be an increase in flights by unmanned surveillance aircraft that provide intelligence to track and target bomb makers.
The Prime Minister said that he hoped that almost another 50,000 Afghan troops will be trained by 2010, taking the number from 90,000 to 134,000 and to 240,000 by 2011.
"A big uplift in Afghan forces is going to be the next stage of the post-election effort," he said.
The move towards reconciliation is a theme which was first raised during the early days of the conflict in Helmand in 2006.
During Mr Brown's visit, a senior British official based in Kabul said: "There are a lot of people out there – and people have used different phrases, David Miliband has said that there were 'People who are sitting on the fence' – who could tip one way or the other. A lot of these guys you would describe as Taliban.
"A large part of the Taliban are not really committed to their agenda. They are just fighting with them for tactical reasons and can be brought back into mainstream life."
The official made clear that any negotiations should be done by the Afghans themselves and not by the British. "It has got to be Afghan leaders. None of us understand the tribal dynamics."
He hinted that a limited form of amnesty for those who co-operate could be on the cards.
"If you have guys fighting alongside the Taliban and they say 'OK, we have had enough', there is an amnesty element to that. In the end, what's going to get these guys is that they need a job."
US officials are reported to have estimated that 70-80 per cent of the Taliban might be open to persuasion.
David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, recently suggested that there may be lower tiers of the Taliban who will negotiate.
The increase in Afghan security forces will also form the basis of a complete review of Nato's strategy in the country which has been carried out by Gen McChrystal and is due to be delivered to Washington in the next two weeks.
The US general, a counter-insurgency specialist, will state in the report that Nato should decrease war fighting operations against the Taliban and root out corruption among local government officials in a renewed effort to win over the "heart and minds" of the population.
In the report the general will criticise the previous military strategy of trying to simply defeat the Taliban and al-Qaeda by the use of "kinetic" or war fighting operations as being "too narrow".
It is also understood that Gen McChrystal will call for greater investment in troops and equipment in Helmand, the area now regarded as the front line in the war against the Taliban and where the majority of British soldiers are based.
But, surprisingly, the report will fall short of directly calling for more troops to be sent to Afghanistan, a decision which will be left to the Pentagon.
Washington insiders, however, have said that it will be implicit in the review that at least an extra 20,000 US or Nato troops will need to be sent if key areas are to be properly addressed.
By the end of the year there will be 100,000 Nato troops in Afghanistan of whom 68,000 will be from the US. Britain is the next largest contributor to the coalition with around 9,000.
Gen McChrystal, a former special forces chief, has also recruited Lieutenant General Sir Graeme Lamb, a former British SAS commander who will head a team in Afghanistan with the sole purpose of trying to negotiate with the Taliban.
Lt Gen Lamb, worked closely with Gen McChrystal in Iraq, and was one of the architects of a strategy which convinced Sunni insurgents to abandon their alliance with al-Qaeda.
Elements of Gen McChrystal's newly-issued "ISAF Commander's Counterinsurgency Guidance," a copy of which has been obtained by The Sunday Telegraph, will be incorporated in his report – serving as a blueprint for the way he wants US, British and other allied units to operate.
In an extraordinarily candid assessment of the situation in Afghanistan, the general baldly states: "We don't have to be stupid or misguided or ineffective to fail – just misguided in our approach".
During Saturday's visit the Prime Minister was keen to dispel allegations that he has let political management of the conflict run adrift in recent weeks.
Mounting troop fatalities have led to calls for ministers to take a tighter grip of the conflict and be more visible.
As if to emphasise his determination to answer this criticism, Mr Brown rolled up his shirt sleeves as he met British troops and paid tribute to their bravery.
He said everything possible was being done to put their safety first and ensure they had every innovation to help them defend themselves against the Taliban.
The Prime Minister toured the British base Camp Bastion. And he looked at new armoured vehicles offering more protection to soldiers from roadside bombs.
