Afghan 'decisive victory' called unlikely

LONDON, Oct. 5 (UPI) -- Britain's top Afghanistan military commander says the war against the Taliban cannot be won and the British public should be prepared for a deal.

Brig. Mark Carleton-Smith, commander of Britain's 16th Air Assault Brigade, just completed his second tour of Afghanistan. He predicted no "decisive military victory" and told The Sunday Times of London the British must "lower our expectations" about Afghanistan.

"We're not going to win this war," Carleton-Smith said. "It's about reducing it to a manageable level of insurgency that's not a strategic threat and can be managed by the Afghan army.

"We may well leave with there still being a low but steady ebb of rural insurgency … I don't think we should expect that when we go there won't be roaming bands of armed men in this part of the world. That would be unrealistic and probably incredible."

Carleton-Smith's opinion echoes those of a growing number of people arguing that the conflict in Afghanistan probably can only be resolved through a political settlement that would include the Taliban, The Sunday Times said.