Politics | NATO US, Brits Press Plans for Taliban Talks By Rob Quinn Posted Jul 28, 2009 2:35 AM CDT Copied An Afghan soldier watches the street from a window ledge following suicide attacks in Gardez, the provincial capital of Paktiya province east of Kabul, Afghanistan, last week. (AP Photo/Musadeq Sadeq) British commanders backed by US officials aim to use the success of recent offensives to persuade mid-level Taliban leaders to come in for talks and give up the fight, the Guardian reports. Conditions are right for the "second-tier" leaders who control large numbers of fighters in southern Afghanistan to reconnect with the Afghan government, say commanders. The plan has even launched talk in London and Washington of an exit strategy. "The Afghan government needs effective grassroots initiatives to offer an alternative for the foot soldiers of the insurgency,” Britain's foreign secretary told NATO members yesterday. "This means a clear route for former insurgents to return to their villages and go back to farming the land—or a role for some of them within the legitimate Afghan security forces.” Read These Next The Wall Street Journal is naming more names tied to Epstein. The White House and South Park are having a tiff. The sheriff says he's never seen a worse case of child sex abuse. The first video of an earthquake fault slip led to a major discovery. Report an error