Clarity for the British people or the Taliban?

“The British people deserve clarity” says David Cameron, when asked if British troops will stop fighting in Afghanistan by 2015 whatever happens. If you listen carefully you can almost hear the Taliban chuckle : “the invaders are doomed towards the same fate as those that tread this path before them” said their emailed statement.

They were responding to the news that NATO, meeting in Lisbon , agreed “irreversible” transfer of control of Afghanistan to the Afghan government by the end of 2014 . Britain reaffirmed British troops would no longer be involved in Afghan combat by 2015 as a unilateral sovereign decision regardless of the situation on the ground. At a press conference David Cameron repeatedly said 2015 is a deadline, apparently non-negotiable insisting the British public deserves clarity, even if the Americans are still fighting.

So is that exactly the message the Taliban wanted? Stick around a couple more years and they’ll all be gone.  The NATO Secretary General Rasmussen warned the Taliban not to think they could just sit it out,  insisting foreign troops (the Americans, basically) will remain in Afghanistan in a supporting role until there is stability. But the political realities in Washington and London are pushing both governments towards getting their troops out, and the Taliban know that. 

The logical conclusion must be that unless the current strategy of political engagement with moderate Taliban can suddenly be made to work, either the Taliban can just sit it out, or Nato troops will not really be coming home when Nato says. Watching the Stop the War demonstration in London it really does seem as though there is not a great deal between them and the political leaders anymore. It’s essentially a question of timing.