There has been much debate in the media today about David Milibands call for talks with the Taliban.

I think it’s important that we accept that if we are to get out of Afghanistan any time in the not to distant future we have to win some friends and tha Afghan Government has to start talking to those moderate Taliban leaders that may be prepared to listen.

We cannot turn Afghanistan into some sort opf westernised and western looking country. We have to face up to the fact that at the end of the day the Afghan people have to choose their own future. They may well choose an islamic fundamentalist future for their state. That shouldn’t automatically mean we cannot work with them. It shouldn’t ultimately mean they are our avowed enemies.

Nearly 200 British servicemen have now died in Afghanistan and for all we know thousands of taliban and certainly thousands of afghanis have died. If the bloodshed is to stop any time soon we have to start a dialogue, find a level of understanding and a path that leads to a peace acceptable to all a peace that saves lives, improves the security of our nation and ensures those that have sacrificed their lives have not done so in vain.