With world leaders meeting in London today to hash out a unified approach to Afghanistan, the Daily Telegraph's Con Coughlin thinks the strategy is doable:
Given that most of the support for the Taliban comes from Pashtun tribesmen, who previously dominated the countryâ??s political institutions, the challenge it to persuade the more moderate Pashtun leaders to switch their support from the Taliban to the democratic process. One of the objectives of todayâ??s conference is to raise the funds to pay â??compensationâ? to those Taliban elders who can be persuaded to renounce the fight.
Dexter Filkins reports today that we have won over a major Pashtun tribe:
The leaders of one of the largest Pashtun tribes in a Taliban stronghold said Wednesday that they had agreed to support the American-backed government, battle insurgents and burn down the home of any Afghan who harbored Taliban guerrillas.
All it cost was $1 million in "development aid" routed directly to the tribe instead of the Afghan government.
(AP Photo)
