Belgium, Brussels, July 27 / Tarek Mahmoud, Trend /
The fight against insurgency in Afghanistan needs a new and clear political Strategy, which can deal with the insurgency through reintegration and reconciliation, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband told today a press conference in NATO HQ, in Brussels.
The squeeze on Taliban must come from within as well as without, he added, because it is only when cooperation, passive and active, of ordinary Afghan is removed that the insurgency will be fatally undermined.
Miliband recognized the fact that the insurgency had changed totally its shape and its tactics comparing to seven years ago and called to benefit from the unique opportunity to continue the actual pressure on both sides of the Durand line separating Afghanistan and Pakistan.
While the insurgency is resilient and adaptable, it does have weaknesses. The groups involved are a ⌠coalition of convenience and unpopular, he said, noting that over 90 percent of the Afghani population doesn't want the Taliban back in power.
He confirmed that we couldn't force the Taliban to surrender just through force of arms and overwhelming might, but by convincing the Afghans that we will not desert them for a Taliban retribution, by building legitimate governance especially at local level and by convincing them that we are not to create a colony through an endless international control.
"Any future peace deals to reconcile militants should have clear red lines: they must be prepared to shut out Al Qaida, and not use violence against troops or citizens in Afghanistan", he insisted.
British death toll in Afghanistan have surged in July to reach 189 troops as ISAF troops began operations in southern Helmand province, a Taliban stronghold and the center of the country's illicit opium trade, in an effort to stabilize the region before the Aug. 20 presidential election.
He said, "People in Britain want to know that all members of our Alliance are ready to give this mission in Afghanistan the commitment and the priority it deserves. Burden sharing is, he added, a founding principle of the Alliance and it needs to be honored in practice as well as in theory.