ISAF sees hope in Afghan reconciliation

KABUL, Afghanistan, May 18 (UPI) -- Afghan officials expect to politically integrate thousands of insurgents though an international military official says it's hard to measure confidence.

U.N. officials are reviewing the names included on a terrorist list spelled out by U.N. Security Council Resolution 1267 with the goal of facilitating Taliban involvement in the Afghan political process.

Taliban and other insurgents are encouraged to join the political process and U.S. officials said there is new impetus in the chance for reconciliation with al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden out of the picture.

Afghan officials said they could potentially integrate thousands of militiamen into the political process with the help of the $250 million funding by the international community.

British army Maj. Gen. Philip Jones, the director of a reintegration unity in the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that grassroots political development had a good chance of gaining momentum in the country.

"But it's extraordinarily difficult to put benchmarks against this because confidence is one of those things that are difficult to measure," he said.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai is encouraging reconciliation as he lobbies to take more control over the country with international forces considering a gradual drawdown.