Afghan war winnable says NZ Defence chief

Lieutenant General Jerry Mateparae says there has been a positive change in the security situation in Afghanistan in the last eight to nine months.
Speaking from Gallipoli on TVNZ's Q+A programme , he said the majority of Afghanis just want to go about their daily lives, don't want to have a conflict in their backyard and are supportive of the international effort in Afghanistan.Mateparae says it's a matter of holding the course and providing confidence to Afghanis that there is an alternative to what they've had."And my understanding is that there has been a marked improvement in security and in the development lines around the south, and certainly where we are in Bamiyan (province)."We've had remarkable successes there, and if you use Bamiyan as the example of what it could be like, you know where you have a governor who is able to govern effectively, who is able to put development into the appropriate spaces, who's able to carry the people, then it is very very much a winnable war."
Mateparae also says the Taliban should be part of the solution.
To my mind speaking to the Taliban is important, I think it's part of the reconciliation process that is necessary and indeed you know absolutely required in Afghanistan."
And he is adamant New Zealand troops will withdraw from Afghanistan by the middle of next year saying they have got other things to do.Mateparae says the deployment of New Zealand Forces in Afghanistan finishes in September 2011, while the SAS has an 18 month deployment which started last September-October.
"So we're matching how we operate in Afghanistan to the conditions in Afghanistan, and also to the conditions at home in relation to just how much the Defence Force can commit, in the event that we've got other things that we need to be concerned about in our own area. We've got modernisation plans that are unrolling, we've got other things to look to."