Decade on, British general regrets not talking to Taliban

A top UK general on Friday admitted that Western forces should have established dialogue with the Taliban after their fall from power a decade ago.

In an interview to a British daily, General Nick Carter said that it would have been much easier to find a political solution when they were on the run.

This interview comes almost immediately after peace talks between the United States and the Taliban were put on hold.

General Carter also emphasised that Afghan forces would need military and financial support after troops leave in 2014.

Furthermore, the general was of the view that the Kabul government would have only shaky control over some areas, he said.

A major conference on the future of Afghanistan held in Bonn, Germany, over a decade ago did not include the defeated Taliban former government of Afghanistan, he said.

General Carter, deputy commander of the NATO-led coalition, acknowledged that it was easy to be wise with the benefit of hindsight but added, “Back in 2002, the Taliban were on the run. I think that at that stage, if we had been very prescient, we might have spotted that a final political solution to what started in 2001.”

“The problems that we have been encountering over the period since then are essentially political problems and political problems are only ever solved by people talking to each other,” he said.

Last week, US Secretary of State John Kerry expressed caution over whether peace talks on Afghanistan with the Taliban could take place.

A row over the status of a Taliban office in Qatar’s capital Doha has overshadowed efforts to start peace negotiations there.