British Defence Secretary Des Browne has become the most senior serving member of a Western government to propose talks with Taliban and other Islamist radical groups, in a sign the 'clash of civilisations' phase may be moving towards the endgame.
Browne told a British newspaper on Saturday that it was important the UK talked to elements within the Taliban in order to stabilize the world.
Some elements within the Taliban, he said can be persuaded to change sides and this would relieve the intolerable pressure currently faced by the British armed forces as it struggles to fight on multiple fronts. Browne admitted the pressure was unsustainable, "We can't do this for ever and we aren't."
Browne's proposal is seen to contradict his prime minister's very public refusal last year to talk to extremists in a bid to end the protracted, hearts-and-minds war-without-end with Islamist radicalism.
In proposing to negotiate with the Taliban, the British defence secretary is seen to give ballast to an earlier suggestion by security minister Alan West and the former Downing Street chief of staff Jonathan Powell urging the UK to hold discussions with al-Qaida.
But Browne did not countenance negotiations with al-Qaida, saying "their demand is an end to our way of life". Even so, security experts said the British defence secretary's proposed negotiations with the Taliban could be the start of a new Western policy of rapprochement with militant Islamist groups.
Browne justified his suggestion by stressing that "the Taliban is a collective noun" and contained different strands, some of whom could be won over to the Western world view.
Browne said, "We have to get people who have previously been on the side of the Taliban to come onto the side of the government (because) ...what you need to do in conflict resolution is to bring the people who believe that the answer to their political ambitions will be achieved through violence into a frame of mind that they accept that their political ambitions will be delivered by politics".
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