Britain pressures Karzai to negotiate

LONDON, Nov. 14 (UPI) -- The British government is pressing Afghanistan to open negotiations with Taliban leaders in a reconciliation bid, The Guardian reported Saturday.

Citing a leaked memo from the British Foreign Office, the newspaper said London is proposing that "reconciled Talibs" be removed from U.N. sanctions lists and that Afghan President Hamid Karzai be encouraged to open negotiations with them on a reconciliation settlement.

The newspaper quoted sources indicating that such moves are strongly backed by the Foreign Office -- specifically Sherard Cowper-Coles, its special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan -- and by the MI6 intelligence agency.

The Guardian said Lt. Gen. Graeme Lamb, former head of the British Special Air Service and the country's senior military officer in Kabul, also has signed onto the effort.

"We must weaken and divide the Taliban if we are to reduce the insurgency to a level that can be managed and contained by the Afghan security forces," the Foreign Office memo states. "This can be achieved by a combination of military pressure and clear signals that the option of an honorable exit from the fight exists."