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UK sets out strategy on Afghanistan

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-07-27 21:09

BRUSSELS: British Foreign Secretary David Miliband on Monday set out his country's political strategy on Afghanistan, stressing the reconciliation of insurgents, reassurance of long-term commitment to Afghanistan's development and a regional approach.

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband addresses on Afghanistan at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, capital of Belgium, on July 27, 2009. [Xinhua]

"People like quoting (Carl von) Clausewitz that warfare is the continuation of politics by other means. But in Afghanistan, we need politics to become the continuation of warfare by other means," Miliband told reporters at the NATO headquarters.

"We will not force the Taliban to surrender just through force of arms and overwhelming might.

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Nor will we convert them to our point of view through force of argument and ideological conviction. But by challenging the insurgency, by dividing the different groups, by convincing the Afghans that we will not desert them to Taliban retribution, and by building legitimate governance especially at local level with the grain of Afghan society, the Afghan government, with our support, will prevail."

Miliband argued that military force alone is never enough to achieve lasting success in counter-insurgency.

"Whether military breakthroughs are translated into strategic success will depend on the political strategy that is pursued and on the political coalition that is built," he said.

Miliband argued that the insurgents are divided and that many of them are reconcilable. "The insurgency is a wide but shallow coalition of convenience: an amalgam of groups with different motivations and power centers."

He said there is no single authoritative leadership of the insurgency in either Afghanistan or Pakistan. Cooperation between them is opportunistic and tactical rather than strategic. People are drawn into the insurgency for different reasons, primarily pragmatic rather than ideological.

The Taliban are the largest element of the insurgency. But, because they exploit predominantly Pashtun communities and sentiment, their support base is limited to certain areas. The insurgency remains deeply unpopular with ordinary Afghans, including those in the Taliban's power base.

Miliband said there is a need for a political strategy for dealing with the insurgency through reintegration and reconciliation. Efforts should be made to help the Afghan government fragment the various elements of the insurgency and turn those who can be reconciled to live within the Afghan Constitution.

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