BBC NEWS | South Asia | 'Managing' the Afghan insurgency

In seven stark words, Brigadier Mark Carleton Smith - a man known for bold statements - summed up Britain's military campaign in Afghanistan. "We're not going to win this war," he said during an interview with a British newspaper, the Sunday Times. The UK's most senior commander added that we should not expect a "decisive military victory" in Afghanistan. Perhaps what's so surprising about these r

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'Many Afghan officials and diplomats, however, believe certain elements of the Taleban represent the positions of the Afghan people and so should be a part of the country's future.'/'The big question is: who in the Taleban can you cut a deal with?'