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Miliband says Taliban must join Afghan parliament | Taliban fighters should be persuaded to lay down their arms and take seats in the Afghan Parliament to build a lasting peace in that country, British Foreign
Secretary David Miliband has said. In a speech to a NATO conference here, Miliband
sought to soothe growing public fears that British troops could be bogged down
indefinitely in Afghanistan, promising: "This in not a war without end." The Independent
quoted him as saying that Britain was ready to commit more soldiers to Afghanistan,
but stressed military action had to be backed by a lasting political settlement.
He argued that most Taliban supporters were not ideologically committed to a global
jihad and had to be offered an "alternative to fighting, a route back into society,
not just a tougher penalty". He said Afghan President Hamid Karzai should be given
support in reaching out to high-level Taliban commanders to encourage them to
renounce al-Qa'ida and adopt peaceful democratic politics. Miliband argued that
the deployment of coalition troops was essential to prevent the Taliban growing
in strength. He set out a three-part strategy for securing Afghanistan's future:
building lasting government structures, dividing the insurgency and strengthening
the country's relationship with neighbours, including Pakistan. He was speaking
as NATO members await US President Barack Obama's much-delayed decision on how
many troops he will commit to a new military surge. |
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