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.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.
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.
Bookmarks