By IRNA,
London : Head of the British army Gen Sir David Richards has opened up divisions with the Prime Minister David Cameron’s government by suggesting politicians and military chiefs should talk to members of the Taliban sooner rather than later.
“If you look at any counter-insurgency campaign throughout history there’s always a point at which you start to negotiate with each other, probably through proxies in the first instance, and I don’t know when that will happen,” Richards said.
“From my own, and this is a purely private view, I think there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be looking at that sort of thing pretty soon,” he said in an interview with BBC Radio 4’s The World This Weekend.
The position of the British government has recently changed to encourage the Afghan government to open talks with the Taliban but has remained adamantly opposed to any involvement itself in any direct engagement.
Last week, Britain’s special envoy to Afghanistan Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles was suspended after reportedly clashing with US and Nato officials over his insistence that the military-driven counter-insurgency effort was headed for failure and that talks with the Taliban should be prioritised.
In any sign of British discord over the policy in Afghanistan, it was announced two weeks ago that Chief of Defence Staff Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup, who has been critical of problems with supplying enough equipment for frontline troops, would be stepping down early from his post.
In the US, General Stanley McChrystal fired last week as commander of multi-national forces in Afghanistan after suggesting there needed to be more engagement with those whose main motivation was financial, rather than ideological.
Richards himself provoked controversy just before taking up his post as Chief of General Staff last year when he warned that Britain’s mission in Afghanistan could last up to 40 years in an evolving role of providing governance, development or security.
At the start of the US-led surge in February, he gave an upbeat assessment, saying that he expected the military conflict to trail off in 2011, saying that British forces had helped to “turn the tables” on the Taliban.