US mulls over talks with Taliban: report

[Naveed Yaseen]

WASHINGTON: The United States is considering taking part in talks with elements of the Taliban in a sharp change in tactics in Afghanistan, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday citing unnamed officials.

“Senior White House and military officials believe that engaging some levels of the Taliban — while excluding top leaders — could help reverse a pronounced downward spiral in Afghanistan and neighbouring Pakistan,” the paper said on its website.

The report said the new approach was contained in a draft recommendation in a classified White House assessment of the US strategy in Afghanistan. Talks would be led by the Afghan government, “but with the active participation of the US,” it said.

The final White House recommendation is expected next month after the US presidential elections, the report said. Earlier this month, Afghan officials met with former members of the Taliban.

Online adds from London: Meanwhile, a top British general warned that Nato forces in Afghanistan had “reached their limit” and suggested that it was time to consider supporting the formation of local tribal militias to help stabilise the country.

General Michael Rose, former commander of UN forces in Bosnia, said he believed there were not enough combat troops to enable Nato to uphold the momentum against Taliban fighters. “As in all insurgency wars, winning the confidence and consent of the people of Afghanistan will always be more important than winning any particular tactical level military battle against the Taliban,” Rose said in comments published on Tuesday by the military think tank, the Royal United Services Institute.

He suggested that Afghan tribal militias should be formed to aid Western forces and the Afghan army. “By winning the support of the Pashtun tribes who live on both sides of the border and by developing a sympathetic understanding of their complex tribal systems, it should be possible to achieve security in the key eastern and southern areas of Afghanistan,” he wrote.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=18060