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Daily Telegraph
24 March 2008
Damien McElroy in Musa Qala
Efforts to split the Taliban have ground to a halt since President Hamid Karzai rejected a foreign-led reconciliation effort, British commanders in southern Afghanistan claim.
Progress against the Taliban was interrupted by Mr Karzai's decision in December to expel two diplomats - the EU's Michael Semple and the UN's Mervyn Patterson - who had led efforts to woo key Taliban commanders last year.
Brig Andrew Mackay, the commander of the British-dominated Nato force in Helmand, said: "We had indications that hundreds of Taliban were looking for reconciliation until Semple and Patterson's expulsion.
"What we thought we could embark on has come to a grinding halt as a result of a failure to distinguish between negotiating with the Taliban and reconciliation."
The impact on operations around Musa Qala is already being felt. Viewed as a model for Afghanistan by British officials, the town was recaptured in December after the Household Cavalry set up a cordon and Afghan troops moved on its streets for the first time in two years.
The diplomats played a crucial role in persuading Taliban commander Mullah Abdul Salaam to transfer his loyalties to the government.
Critically, this included a proposal to employ thousands of former rebels as village guards. But Mr Karzai insisted on replacing the two envoys after local officials accused them of doing deals behind their backs.
Lt Col Ed Smyth Osbourne, the Household Cavalry officer in charge of operations in Musa Qala, said that efforts to secure Taliban areas were starting to unravel.
He said: "Recapturing territory and holding it means you can't afford to take your foot off the pedal. But unless we get this right there will be a decline and, I fear, we will face serious problems."
The lack of Afghan government backing for the British drew an ominous prediction from Musa Qala's head of police, Commander Koka.
He said: "I think the international forces will be here forever. The people are ready to get away from war but they are afraid of the Taliban. They need their government on their side."
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