US, NATO plan to persuade Taliban leaders to switch loyalties

Adopting the 'sons of Iraq' strategy, the US and Nato forces in Afghanistan have initiated a plan to persuade middle and low level Taliban commanders to switch loyalties, a top American military leader has said.

The strategy called 'sons of Iraq' was first adopted by the British forces in Baghdad where many Iraqi insurgents were persuaded to join self-defence militias.

A similar kind of program had worked in Iraq and the US commanders believe that it would yield desired results in Afghanistan too, Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told US law makers.

"There is a British general by the name of Graham Lamb who did this in Iraq and who is now working for General McChrystal and has initiated putting in place a program to focus on mid-level and lower-level fighters who would like to turn themselves in and do so in a way, they are both protected and that they have a future, so, in that regard, similar to Sons of Iraq," Mullen said.

The programme would involve Afghan leaders initially. "We're really at the beginning of right now. So we're not very far down that road," Mullen said in response to a question at a Congressional hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee.