UK general says Taliban talks should begin 'soon'

The head of the British Army has also warned that discussions should not lead insurgents to think they have an advantage.

LONDON // The head of the British Army has said he believes talks with the Taliban should begin "pretty soon," but that discussions shouldn't lead insurgents to think they have an advantage. Calling his position a "purely private view," Gen Sir David Richards told the BBC today that he didn't know when talks could begin. But Gen Richards, a former commander of Nato forces in Afghanistan, said "there's no reason why we shouldn't be looking at that sort of thing pretty soon."

He said in any counterinsurgency campaign comes "a point which you start to negotiate with each other." The military must continue its work alongside development efforts "to make sure that they don't think that we are giving up. It's a concurrent process and both are equally important," Richards said. * AP