Colonel Richard Kemp: Peace talks with Taliban won't work

The US is engaged in talks with the Taliban, Afghan President Hamid Karzai has said, in the first high-level confirmation of US involvement.

Mr Karzai said that "foreign military and especially the US itself" were involved in peace talks with the group.

Earlier this month, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said there could be political talks with the Taliban by the end of this year.

Former commander of British forces in Afghanistan, Colonel Richard Kemp, told the BBC he believed "There is no prospect for successful peace talks with Taliban".