LONDON — Britain will support deals with Taliban insurgents to give them places in Afghanistan's new government and military, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced yesterday, distancing himself from the Canadian and U.S. strategy of refusing to sit down with the Taliban.
In a speech to the House of Commons announcing a new Afghanistan strategy, Mr. Brown said that Britain will join Afghan President Hamid Karzai in making money and job offers to "former insurgents."
"If they are prepared to renounce violence and abide by the constitution and respect basic human rights, then there is a place for them in the legitimate society and economy of Afghanistan," Mr. Brown said.
British officials said that this reconciliation process will involve offering salaries, jobs and possibly high-status positions to those Taliban officers and fighters who are part of the Islamic militant organization for non-ideological reasons.
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Mr. Brown also pledged £450-million ($932-million Canadian) in extra reconstruction aid, some of which can be used to make offers to erstwhile Taliban insurgents. While the process will inevitably involve negotiations with active Taliban officers, some of whom may be engaged in attacks against NATO troops, British officials said that any deals would be made by the Afghan government, so that Britain would not appear to be negotiating with its enemies.
Among United Nations and diplomatic officials in Kabul, Mr. Brown's statement was considered a significant shift away from the U.S. policy of non-negotiation and toward Mr. Karzai's approach.
Canadian officials in Afghanistan said that their government agencies and diplomats have shifted their position toward embracing Mr. Karzai's approach, although the military has not followed suit.
Mr. Brown made a point of denying that he would engage in larger negotiations that might give the Taliban itself a place in the future of Afghanistan: "Our objective is to defeat the insurgency by isolating and eliminating their leadership. I make it clear that we will not enter into any negotiations with these people."
Significantly, Mr. Brown added: "And we will support the government in their efforts to reconcile all parties to Afghanistan's democratic constitution."
By emphasizing "all parties," military officials said, Mr. Brown seemed to indicate that even those Taliban officers and soldiers who appear on the military's terrorist blacklist could be eligible for deals - a sharp break with the current positions of U.S. and Canadian military officials, who have repeatedly insisted that no talks will take place with terrorists.
The United States offers the poorly funded Peace Through Strength Program, which encourages Taliban fighters to lay down their arms, but offers little more than amnesty from prosecution in exchange. Mr. Karzai represents the other extreme: He has said that even Mullah Omar, the head of the Taliban and former ruler of Afghanistan, could be party to negotiations.
Mr. Brown's new strategy is far closer to Mr. Karzai's in that it theoretically extends jobs and status to all but the highest Taliban officials, thus placing Canada in a potentially awkward position with its NATO partners.
"The aim here is to split the officer corps of the Taliban, making an escape from insurgency appealing, especially to those who are participating mainly for financial reasons," an official at Britain's Department of Defence said yesterday.
While the most senior leaders of the Taliban wouldn't be considered, most other figures, including those who may have participated in terrorism, would not necessarily be exempt.
That could oblige Canada to choose between the U.S. and British approaches.
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