Defence analysts warn Taliban reintegration plan could be "complex"

Feb 3, 2010, 12:56 GMT

London - The strategy to reach a 'negotiated peace' in Afghanistan by wooing moderate elements in the Taliban insurgency are welcome, but could turn out to be more complex than expected, defence analysts in London warned Wednesday.

'The Afghan insurgency is complex,' the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) said in its Military Balance 2010 - the group's annual assessment of global military capabilities.

It said the plan agreed upon at last week's conference on Afghanistan in London - setting up a fund for the reintegration of Taliban fighters who are ready to lay down their arms - needed to be embedded in 'renewed regional cooperation.'

'There are far more insurgents than ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) can ever kill,' said the report. It also stressed that Taliban links with the terrorism network of al-Qaeda or its affiliates were 'highly differentiated' and made their assessment from a 'narrow counter-terrorist perspective' difficult.

'Moreover, effectively sealing the border with Pakistan ... requires a form of collaboration with Pakistan not yet achieved,' the report noted.

The picture was 'additionally complicated by India's concern over the wisdom of seeking to distinguish between 'bad' and 'potentially reconcilable' Taliban fighters, it added.