Britain’s former envoy to Kabul, Sherard Cowper-Coles, has written an op-ed about
NATO’s coming withdrawal from Afghanistan in this morning’s Times (£). The unspoken analysis is
that: having failed to defeat the Taliban unconditionally in battle, it will be hard to secure peace and stability.
Like Matt Cavanagh, who wrote an extensive report on the situation in Afghanistan for Coffee House last week, Cowper-Coles says that NATO is split between ‘shooters’, who perpetually ask for one more ‘big push’, and politicians, who are seeking negotiated settlement and military drawdown. Cowper-Coles gives a diplomatic angle, arguing that NATO must first prove it is serious about peace if the Taliban are to join a meaningful accord that can withstand NATO’s exit. He suggests:
‘The first priority must be to wind down the level of violence. We need to return to the policy followed by General Stanley McChrystal, until his premature departure a year ago, of protecting the population.
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