War on Taliban cannot be won: British military commander

Carleton-Smith, commander of 16 Air Assault Brigade, which has just completed its second tour of Afghanistan, said it was necessary to 8220;lower our expectations8221;.

8220;We8217;re not going to win this war. It8217;s about reducing it to a manageable level of insurgency that8217;s not a strategic threat and can be managed by the Afghan army,8221; he said.

8220;We may well leave with there still being a low but steady ebb of rural insurgency8230; I don8217;t think we should expect that when we go there won8217;t be roaming bands of armed men in this part of the world. That would be unrealistic and probably incredible.8221;

He claimed his forces had 8220;taken the sting out of the Taliban for 2008. But his brigade has sustained heavy losses in the southern province of Helmand in the past six months, with 32 killed and 120 injured.

8220;We want to change the nature of the debate from one where disputes are settled through the barrel of the gun to one where it is done through negotiations.

8220;If the Taliban were prepared to sit on the other side of the table and talk about a political settlement, then that8217;s precisely the sort of progress that concludes insurgencies like this. That shouldn8217;t make people uncomfortable,8221; the commander said.