US commander all for reintegrating Taleban in Afghan society

London, Oct.2 (ANI): US commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, has said that 50 to 80 per cent of the Taleban would probably stop fighting if they were given jobs and added that he was all for reintegrating them into Afghan society.

However, he cautioned that such a mission called for "patience, resolve and time".The situation is serious and I choose that word very, very carefully," he said, speaking at the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies.

"Neither success nor failure in our endeavor in support of the Afghan people and government can be taken for granted," General McChrystal added.

He made it clear that only the Afghans themselves would be able to say if and when the coalition had succeeded in its mission. To reach that stage, NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), which he commands, had to demonstrate that it would support and protect the Afghan people.

"We must respect the people, because ultimately the Afghans must defeat the insurgency," he said.

"In the end we don't win by defeating the Taleban or by a body count, but when the Afghans have decided that we have won," The Telegraph quoted him, as saying.eneral McChrystal flew to London after taking part in a teleconference with President Obama in the White House.

Obama and his closest advisers are reviewing the general's assessment of what is needed to overcome the Taleban and bring stability to Afghanistan.

He declined to give any details of the discussion but said that he welcomed the debate in Washington and elsewhere. (ANI)