Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Financial Times
October 6, 2008
By Jimmy Burns and Daniel Dombey
The British government on Sunday risked fuelling a rift with the US and some members of the Afghan government by supporting a senior military commander’s statement suggesting that the war against the Taliban cannot be won.
A spokesman said the UK’s ministry of defence “did not have a problem” with warning the UK public not to expect a “decisive military victory” and to prepare instead for a possible deal with the Taliban.
“Our ministers have said before that the combat in Afghanistan is not about winning or losing. We have always said it is about improving infrastructure and making sure that the Afghanistan army and police can take over security. We are also looking for a political settlement,” the spokesman told the FT.
In an interview with the Sunday Times, the UK’s commander in Helmand province, Brigadier Mark Carleton-Smith, said his forces had “taken the sting out of the Taliban for 2008” but it was necessary to “lower expectations”.
“We are not going to win this war,” he told the newspaper. “It’s about reducing it to a manageable level of insurgency that’s not a strategic threat and can be managed by the Afghan army.”
Nato commanders and diplomats have been saying for some time that the Taliban insurgency cannot be defeated by military means alone and that negotiations with the militants will ultimately be needed to bring an end to the conflict.
But the brigadier’s statement airs a view on the subject at a time when there are signs of policy rifts developing among the allies.
The US, which has stepped up its efforts on Afghanistan in recent months, is sceptical about any idea of negotiating with the Taliban.
“We all agree on the need for the people of Afghanistan to come together if they are going to succeed in creating a lasting and viable state,” Gordon Johndroe, a White House spokesman, told the FT.
“It remains to be seen if some in the Taliban will really renounce violence and extremism and play a constructive role in Afghanistan.”
Asked about the brigadier’s comments, he said: “We plan on winning in Afghanistan. It’s going to be tough and going to take some time, but we will eventually succeed.”
Despite the worries among Washington’s European allies over whether the conflict with the Taliban can ever be won, President George W. Bush, and both the Republican and Democratic presidential contenders favour sending more troops to Afghanistan.
Afghanistan’s defence minister on Sunday expressed his disappointment at the commander’s statements, maintaining the insurgency had to be defeated.
“I think this is the personal opinion of the commander,” Abdul Rahim Wardak told reporters. “The main objective of the Afghan government and the whole international community is that we have to defeat this war on terror and be successful,” he said.
However, a senior UK official has confirmed his government’s backing for Afghan president President Hamid Karzai’s latest initiative to try to broker peace talks with the Taliban. “We support it. It is absolutely the right thing to do,” the senior official told the FT.
October 6, 2008
By Jimmy Burns and Daniel Dombey
The British government on Sunday risked fuelling a rift with the US and some members of the Afghan government by supporting a senior military commander’s statement suggesting that the war against the Taliban cannot be won.
A spokesman said the UK’s ministry of defence “did not have a problem” with warning the UK public not to expect a “decisive military victory” and to prepare instead for a possible deal with the Taliban.
“Our ministers have said before that the combat in Afghanistan is not about winning or losing. We have always said it is about improving infrastructure and making sure that the Afghanistan army and police can take over security. We are also looking for a political settlement,” the spokesman told the FT.
In an interview with the Sunday Times, the UK’s commander in Helmand province, Brigadier Mark Carleton-Smith, said his forces had “taken the sting out of the Taliban for 2008” but it was necessary to “lower expectations”.
“We are not going to win this war,” he told the newspaper. “It’s about reducing it to a manageable level of insurgency that’s not a strategic threat and can be managed by the Afghan army.”
Nato commanders and diplomats have been saying for some time that the Taliban insurgency cannot be defeated by military means alone and that negotiations with the militants will ultimately be needed to bring an end to the conflict.
But the brigadier’s statement airs a view on the subject at a time when there are signs of policy rifts developing among the allies.
The US, which has stepped up its efforts on Afghanistan in recent months, is sceptical about any idea of negotiating with the Taliban.
“We all agree on the need for the people of Afghanistan to come together if they are going to succeed in creating a lasting and viable state,” Gordon Johndroe, a White House spokesman, told the FT.
“It remains to be seen if some in the Taliban will really renounce violence and extremism and play a constructive role in Afghanistan.”
Asked about the brigadier’s comments, he said: “We plan on winning in Afghanistan. It’s going to be tough and going to take some time, but we will eventually succeed.”
Despite the worries among Washington’s European allies over whether the conflict with the Taliban can ever be won, President George W. Bush, and both the Republican and Democratic presidential contenders favour sending more troops to Afghanistan.
Afghanistan’s defence minister on Sunday expressed his disappointment at the commander’s statements, maintaining the insurgency had to be defeated.
“I think this is the personal opinion of the commander,” Abdul Rahim Wardak told reporters. “The main objective of the Afghan government and the whole international community is that we have to defeat this war on terror and be successful,” he said.
However, a senior UK official has confirmed his government’s backing for Afghan president President Hamid Karzai’s latest initiative to try to broker peace talks with the Taliban. “We support it. It is absolutely the right thing to do,” the senior official told the FT.