A leaked French diplomatic cable quotes the British ambassador in Afghanistan as predicting that the Nato-led military campaign against the Taliban will fail, according to The New York Times. Not only that, but the best solution for the country will be the installation of an "acceptable dictator," the British envoy reportedly added.
The Times reported Saturday that the coded cable was sent to Elysee Palace and the French Foreign Ministry September 2. It was obtained by the weekly, Le Canard Enchaine. "The current situation is bad, the security situation is getting worse, so is corruption, and the government has lost all trust," British envoy Sherard Cowper-Coles was quoted as saying by the author of the cable, Francois Fitou, the French deputy ambassador to Kabul.
The two-page cable also said the Nato-led military presence was making it more difficult to stabilise the war-torn country. "The presence of the coalition, in particular its military presence, is part of the problem, not part of its solution," Sherard was quoted as saying. "Foreign forces are the lifeline of a regime that would rapidly collapse without them. As such, they slow down and complicate a possible emergence from the crisis."
The Times reported that the cable also said that within 10 years, the only "realistic" way to unite Afghanistan would be for it to be governed by "an acceptable dictator.
On Wednesday, General David McKiernan, the senior American military commander in Afghanistan, called on Nato to send more troops and other support as soon as possible to counter the insurgency. British officials said that the comments attributed to Sir Sherard were distorted and did not reflect official British policy, according to The Times.
"It's not for us to comment on something that is presented as extracts from a French diplomatic telegram, but the views it quotes are not in any way an accurate representation of the government's approach," a spokeswoman for the British Foreign Office was quoted as saying.
The spokeswoman confirmed, however, that the two men did have a meeting, but said that the British ambassador's comments were taken out of context. But Sir Sherard, a British career Foreign Service officer who has served as ambassador to Saudi Arabia and Israel, is known for his frank talk, and other British officials who know him say that his words ring true, The Times said.
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