Afghanistan's Islamist Taliban militia will have to be involved in the country's peace process, Defence Minister Des Browne told delegates at the Labour Party conference.
Interesting stuff--I had a not-for-attribution conversation with a senior UK official in the spring on this issue, and was told in no uncertain terms that the government was dead-set against dialogue with Taliban elements. Indeed, I was rather taken aback with the vehemence with which the view was expressed.

I wonder if its a MoD/FCO split, a Blair/Brown difference, a change over time, or whether my interlocutor was expressing a personal view as government policy.