KABUL - TALKING to insurgents to try to restore some stability to Afghanistan is an old tactic that has failed badly in the past, a leading international think-tank said on Friday in a warning to Washington.

US President Barack Obama has floated the idea of talking to less extreme elements within the Taleban, whose hardline regime was ousted in 2001 after a US-led invasion, as part of a new strategy in the Afghan war.

But the International Crisis Group said the possibility of negotiating with insurgents willing to stop fighting should be handled with great caution.

Previous peace deals with militants in Afghanistan and Pakistan 'enhanced the power and activities of violent insurgents, while doing nothing to build sustainable institutions,' the non-governmental group said in a report.

The Brussels-based ICG admitted there were no easy options, saying that in taking on 'the forces of violent global jihadism' - Al-Qaeda and the Taleban - 'we know now what not to do.' 'Knowing what to do, and how to do it, is harder.' One proposed option - withdrawing the foreign troops supporting the Kabul government - would return Afghanistan to chaos and the control of extremists seen in the 1990s, it argued.

It also warned against moves in Afghanistan to arm villagers so they could take charge of their own security, saying that this would only worsen ethnic tensions and violence.

There were no short-term solutions and Afghanistan had to be built into a resilient state with robust institutions, including the army and police.

The ICG, a leading source of advice on the prevention of deadly conflict, said that while the Taleban may have made gains, they enjoyed little support among a public tired of war.

It also noted that its 'leadership does not command a significant standing army; indeed, the Taleban is a disparate network of groups using the name as they pursue different agendas.' At the same time, however, a narrow focus on confronting militants through aggressive military action had 'not only failed to reduce religious extremism, but fuelled local discontent and violence.'

Top US military and diplomatic officials briefed key senators on Thursday in Washington on the thinking behind a revised Afghanistan strategy which Obama's administration is expected to announce within weeks. -- AFP