Britain should talk to Iran - Clegg - News in brief

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He called for a regional peace conference bringing together all countries in the region - including Iran - to seek a comprehensive settlement, underpinned by external guarantors including the US, Russia and China.

And he said that the international community must accept that the Afghan conflict "cannot be won on the battlefield" and efforts must be made to engage more moderate Taliban leaders and separate them from the fundamentalist zealots in the movement.

The election of Barack Obama as US President has cleared the way for Britain to withdraw its forces swiftly from Iraq and participate in a "troop surge" in Afghanistan, said the Lib Dem leader. And the President-elect's willingness to open talks with old enemies could be the "fresh, decisive change" that makes a regional peace deal possible and allows the international community to reshape its efforts in Afghanistan.

In an article for the Independent on Sunday, Mr Clegg accused the Government of failing to offer "support, leadership and direction" to British troops.

UK personnel have been left in "the worst of all situations", with 4,000 boxed into Basra Airport in Iraq unable to do anything more than defend themselves, while in Afghanistan the 8,000-strong UK force is too small to achieve sustainable success in Helmand province, he wrote.

"We need to ask whether we are providing the support, leadership and direction our troops need today. The answer is no," said Mr Clegg. "The failure to plan for these two wars is nothing less than a betrayal of the men and women sent into harm's way."

Britain should withdraw from Iraq "as soon as is safe and practicable" and should not wait for the expected US drawdown in 2010, he said. This would make possible a troop surge in Afghanistan.

Coupled with increases in troop numbers in Afghanistan must be a policy of engagement and negotiation with the Taliban, said Mr Clegg.

"The Taliban is a diffuse, disparate band of tribal leaders, conservatives and ideologues. It can and must be split. There are some die-hard fundamentalists who cannot be negotiated with. But there are many, leaders and foot-soldiers alike, who can, and must, be approached."