MUNICH, Germany, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Western powers are not seeking an "unconditional surrender" of Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan because many could form part of a settlement, Britain's defence minister said on Saturday. British Secretary of State for Defence Bob Ainsworth said recent Western pledges to send more troops and aid would show rebels that NATO forces were determined to stay in Afghanistan until control could start being ceded to local authorities. "But you have to provide them with a genuine other way," he said on the sidelines of the annual Munich Security Conference. "This is not the Second World War where we're talking about unconditional surrender. This is building Afghanistan." Ainsworth said Pashtun tribes -- from which many Taliban fighters come -- were an integral part of Afghanistan and urged the Afghan government "to reach out to them". Both Western and Afghan officials have stressed the need to step up efforts to reintegrate local rebel elements, to drive a wedge between them and insurgents from outside the country that are affiliated to militant networks like al Qaeda. There were "huge opportunities" for encouraging Taliban insurgents to come to terms with the Afghan government, and Britain and its NATO allies wanted to help Kabul "in any way we can to split the insurgency", Ainsworth said. "If we give them the opportunity to come across into safety where they're prepared to honour the constitution and put down their weapons we can peel off a proportion of the insurgency." Ainsworth said last week's Afghan conference in London had achieved nearly all of what NATO commander General Stanley McChrystal intended. It only came up short in finding enough trainers for Afghan forces, he said.
