Taliban "former insurgents" invited back into Afghani government

Doug Saunders at the Toronto Globe & Mail has the story on Britain's (and Canada's) move towards the Karzai inclusion:

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....

... Mr. Brown said that Britain will join Afghan President Hamid Karzai in making money and job offers to "former insurgents."...

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.

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....

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 ojective 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.