Afstan: What are the Dutch and Brits doing?

According to these two stories, negotiating--which is fine if Taliban are actually neutralized.

1) "Dutch aim to beat Taleban by inviting them round to tea"

...Colonel Vleugels, commander of the Dutch force in neighbouring Uruzgan province,... built a qala — a traditional Pashtun home with mud walls and a large reception room where guests are greeted in the local fashion with tea, nuts and dried fruit.

It is designed as a base for Dutch soldiers and as a place for local people — including those close to the Taleban — to air grievances and talk politics...

Since August, the Dutch have carried out more than 400 patrols. They have lost one soldier, who committed suicide, and suffered four injuries in combat. Civilian casualties have also been very low, the governor said.

By comparison, British troops lost 36 men in southern Afghanistan last year and the Canadians lost 35 soldiers and one diplomat. President Karzai publicly wept over the number of civilian casualties last month.

Nato officials bristle at the idea that there is a “Dutch model” that might be applicable to Helmand or any other province. “The Dutch are doing what we’d all like to do — we just don’t have the opportunity,” one said.

Some say that the Dutch simply had good luck in their first few months in Uruzgan. Others attribute the relative stability in the south to American special forces who have pinned down the Taleban in the mountainous north of the province.

Some critics accuse the Dutch of surrendering most of Uruzgan to the Taleban without a fight. “Go 5km from the governor’s house and you’re in Taleban territory,” said Naimatullah, 32, who runs a telephone shop in Tarin Kowt. “The old governor used to fight the Taleban. The new one just talks.”

2) "Britain 'out of step with Nato allies'"

British policy in Afghanistan is seriously damaging Western efforts against the Taliban, diplomats from allied countries have warned.

Officials from the United States and European members of Nato have told The Daily Telegraph that Britain is increasingly at odds with its coalition partners over its policy of making arbitrary peace deals with the Taliban, while at the same time declining to put pressure on Pakistan to stop providing sanctuary to the Taliban leadership.

Diplomats in Kabul and Islamabad say Britain's "go it alone policies" are threatening military preparations for a major Taliban offensive expected next month.

Western officials have strongly criticised a peace deal in Musa Qala, Helmand, where thousands of British fought daily battles with a resurgent Taliban.

British commanders say the deal was struck with tribal elders, but it has been claimed that the agreement was actually made with the Taliban, who controlled the town. British officers deny the claim.
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The truce is now reported to be breaking down with large numbers of heavily-armed Taliban returning to Musa Qala...