BAGRAM: Now is the best time for the Taliban to negotiate for peace, thetop US general in Afghanistan said Wednesday, warning that an increased airand ground campaign against the insurgents would only get worse.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani last month unveiled a plan to open talks toend the 16-year-old war, offering to negotiate with the Taliban without anypreconditions.
So far the group’s response to the offer has been muted, which analystssaid reflects debate among Taliban leaders over the merits of engaging withan administration it has long viewed as illegitimate.
But US officials including Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said this week thatsome Taliban elements are open to talking with the Afghan government.
General John Nicholson, who leads US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, saidthe Taliban have taken heavy casualties since US President Donald Trumpauthorised ramped-up air operations last year, pointing to increasinglyeffective Afghan commando and regular Afghan army units.
“In the Taliban’s mind, they see what is coming and these capabilities areonly going to get greater,” Nicholson told reporters accompanying Mattis ona visit to Bagram Airfield, America´s largest air base in Afghanistan thatis located north of Kabul.
“So this really is probably their best time to attempt a negotiation,because it’s only going to get worse for them,” he added, as both sidesprepare for the start of what is expected to be an intense spring fightingseason.
Nicholson’s comments come as Afghanistan deploys more troops to the westernprovince of Farah where the Taliban have launched multiple attacks inrecent weeks.
The latest assault in the province, which borders Iran, happened in theearly hours of Wednesday when militants stormed a checkpoint manned bypolice and intelligence officers on the outskirts of the provincial capitalFarah, killing seven security forces, officials said.
Ghani’s peace plan includes eventually recognising the Taliban as apolitical party. In return, the Taliban would need to recognise the Kabulgovernment and constitution – a perennial sticking point in past attemptsto open talks.
Despite Nicholson’s tough talk, US data shows the Taliban are far frombeing driven off the battlefield.
In October, insurgents controlled or influenced nearly half ofAfghanistan’s districts – double the percentage in 2015, the USgovernment’s office of the Special Inspector General for AfghanistanReconstruction said in January.
Over the same period, the watchdog said, the number of districts underAfghan government control or influence fell to its lowest level sinceDecember 2015.
*Focus on Kabul*
“My perception of what is going on inside the Taliban is they are tired ofthis war as well, they’d like to return home, they’d like to rejoin societyand, just like the people of this country, would like to see the end ofthis war as would all of us,” Nicholson said.
He added that there are “many Taliban who could see a way to work withinthis framework” but cautioned there would always be those that will neverreconcile.
“It’s encouraging that these offers are on the table and we would appear tobe at a point where they could start having a conversation about this,” hesaid.
Aside from military pressure, Nicholson said it is important thatdiplomatic pressure is strong on “those who externally enable theinsurgency” and he credited the role that religious pressure from otherIslamic countries is playing.
The four-star general also underscored the need to strengthen security inKabul, where a string of devastating attacks in recent months has killedhundreds of civilians.
“Kabul is our main effort right now, to harden Kabul, to protect the peopleof Kabul and the international community that are here because of thestrategic impact that has and the importance to the campaign,” he said