More than 4500 Taliban members defect

The Herald reports,

More than 4500 Taliban insurgents have defected since 2005 and up to 4000 others have been killed in action against British and Canadian forces in southern Afghanistan, according to military intelligence sources.

A British officer with wide experience in Helmand told The Herald yesterday,

"We reckon that the Taliban has lost perhaps two-thirds of its field commanders in Helmand and Kandahar in the last year or so. That has weakened its tactical structure, although it is unlikely to stem the flow of paid or religiously motivated recruits.

Not only has persuasion from British and Afghan forces helped, but apparently so has NATO airpower which is the single largest cause of casualties.

It goes to show that negotiations should always start from a position of strength.