UK Reaching out to Taliban Fighters

"We do not use the word 'win' (the war)," a senior British official told the paper.

"We can't kill our way out of this problem."

British officials say the new tactic is targeting both Taliban fighters "who are sick of fighting" and captured ones.

Those who would give up their arms, for instance, would be offered jobs at state structures being set up in the country and encouraged to rejoin their tribes, said British officials, who requested anonymity.

One official cited Hakim Munib, the governor of Oruzgan province in southern Afghanistan, as an example of a former Taliban figure who had left the movement.

Nearly 50 British troops have been killed in Afghanistan since the US-led war was launched in October 2001, many since last summer when Britain had NATO command.

Britain announced earlier this week sending additional 1,400 troops to Afghanistan, taking the total number of its forces to 7,700.

There are about 45,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan, most in a US-led NATO force.

Different

British officials say they distinguish Taliban from Al-Qaeda, describing it as a "more fluid" organization.

"Al-Qaeda is very choosy about who they work with," one official said.

"The Taliban is not a homogenous group. It is a mixture of characters - criminals, drug dealers, people out of work. There is a wide variety of different people," he added.

"The Taliban pays them to carry out these attacks so there are ways to tackle the problem, to split off the disillusioned."

Taliban has regrouped and emerged recently as a powerful movement that should be reckoned with.

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