UK-Taliban Secret Talks Come to Light

Brown to announce major revision of Afghan strategy, rankling Washington

(NEWSER) - Just back from Kabul, Gordon Brown is poised to announce a major strategic revision in Afghanistan that will involve dialogue with the Taliban. Senior British officials believe that treating the loose-knit organization as a unified terrorist actor is counterproductive, the Independent reports, and they want to move from fighting militants to talking to them. But the new strategy might cause tension between the UK and Washington hawks. More»

Washington weighs withdrawal, other options

(NEWSER) - The big question in Washington: Now that Osama bin Laden is dead, what do we do about Afghanistan? Senators John Kerry, a Democrat, and Richard Lugar, a Republican, both said yesterday that we must reassess the nearly decade-old conflict and work toward, as Kerry said, "the smallest footprint necessary." But Pentagon officials argue that rather than withdraw American troops, the US should try to make further gains and apply more pressure on the Taliban, setting the stage for what's sure to be a heated debate. More»

UK intelligence paid fake senior insurgent

(NEWSER) - British officials are at fault for bringing a Taliban impostor to Afghanistan’s presidential palace to meet Hamid Karzai, the president’s chief of staff tells the Washington Post . An Afghan at the meeting knew the man wasn’t top Taliban figure Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour; foreigners shouldn’t be dealing with the militants, he added, noting that Afghan intelligence discovered the impostor was a Pakistani shopkeeper. More»

Gordon Brown does not agree

(NEWSER) - The Taliban's faith and loyalty to one another can be regarded as admirable, according to a British military bishop, who is urging an approach to them that recognizes they're not all bad. The Church of England's bishop to the Armed Forces, Stephen Venner, made his comments as Prime Minister Gordon Brown blasted the Taliban for aiming to cause "maximum damage" in Afghanistan. But Venner said the West has been "too simplistic in our attitude" toward the Taliban. More»

(NEWSER) - A Taliban spokesman today denied that the group was behind a huge explosion that killed at least 43 and injured 65 more in Kandahar last night. Roughly 40 shops were destroyed in the blast, which went off outside a wedding hall just as people were breaking their Ramadan fast. Rescue workers are still pulling people from the wreckage. More»