麻豆传媒

Negotiating peace with the Taliban and making room for former militants in the Afghan government may be key to bringing peace to Afghanistan, says both the country鈥檚 president and the top NATO commander in the region, ahead of a conference on the nation鈥檚 future scheduled for Thursday in London.

In an interview published in the Financial Times, U.S. General Stanley McChrystal said the surge of 30,000 more of his troops to Afghanistan will allow NATO to secure Taliban territory across the south, destabilize the insurgency and propel militants into peace talks.

When asked if Taliban leaders could one day join President Hamid Karzai鈥檚 government, McChrystal said 鈥渁ny Afghans can play a role if they focus on the future, and not on the past.鈥�

鈥淎s a soldier, my personal feeling is that there鈥檚 been enough fighting,鈥� he also told the paper. 鈥淲hat I think we do is try to shape conditions which allow people to come to a truly equitable solution to how the Afghan people are governed.鈥�

McChrystal鈥檚 comments echo those made in the last week by top U.S. officials such as Richard Holdbrooke, President Barack Obama鈥檚 envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, and secretary of defence Robert Gates, who said the Taliban are a part of Afghanistan鈥檚 鈥減olitical fabric.鈥�

McChrystal and Holbrooke will both be at Thursday鈥檚 conference on Afghanistan, to be hosted by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown in London.

The summit, according to Brown, will 鈥渃over both our military and our political strategies, but concentrate on the political strategy for Afghanistan.鈥�

McChrystal is expected to push his plan for peace with the Taliban at the conference, while Holbrooke has indicated discussions will include the creation of a so-called integration fund, proposed by Karzai to encourage militants to put down their weapons.

Karzai himself has long advocated negotiating with militants, and on Monday called for an amnesty for the hundreds of Taliban fighters currently on a UN blacklist.

鈥淚 will be making a statement at the conference in London to the effect of removing Taliban names from the United Nations sanctions list,鈥� Karzai said after a meeting in with regional leaders in Turkey to discuss the issue.

Despite a 2,800-strong force in Afghanistan, Canadian officials have indicated their support for negotiated peace with the Taliban after previously mocking NDP Leader Jack Layton for proposing talks.

Last March, Defence Minister Peter MacKay endorsed talks with militants, but said Canada would not take part. MacKay said such negotiations should be led by the Afghan government with insurgents who agree to lay down their arms.

"Yes, discussions with the Taliban; yes, led by the Afghans; and yes, certain conditions that have to be in place," MacKay said. "Without that the discussions really are moot."

The Taliban has long resisted calls for negotiations. Last week, spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid emphatically stated that 鈥渢he only political solution is that the foreign forces and the Afghan government surrender to us.鈥�

Historian Desmond Morton said Tuesday that negotiations may be the only way to avoid massive bloodshed at the hands of militants once NATO soldiers pack up and leave.

鈥淚f the war is going to come to any kind of controlled end other than a massacre by the Taliban after everybody else leaves in 2011, there better be negotiations,鈥� Morton told 麻豆传媒 Channel. 鈥淎nd (Karzai) has been saying this for a long time and other people have been saying this for a long time, particularly among NATO members who see no end to this war.鈥�

If getting to negotiations largely depends on the successful takeover of insurgent strongholds before Canadian and other troops begin withdrawing from Afghanistan in 2011, the soldiers appear to have their work cut out for them.

NATO troops have been battling an intensified insurgency, as indicated by a 70 per cent rise in coalition casualties in 2009.

Nonetheless, McChrystal is hopeful.

鈥淚鈥檇 like everybody to walk out of London with a renewed commitment,鈥� he said, 鈥渁nd that commitment is to the right outcome for the Afghan people.鈥�