Prime Minister Stephen Harper said something pretty damned similar back in April.

But first, the interview with Brig.-Gen. Mark Carleton-Smith in the Sunday Times: (it's also worth watching the report by CTV's Paul Workman from Afghanistan)

The departing commander of British forces in Afghanistan says he believes the Taleban will never be defeated.

Brigadier Mark Carleton-Smith, the commander of 16 Air Assault Brigade, whose troops have suffered severe casualties after six months of tough fighting, will hand over to 3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines this month.

He told The Times that in his opinion, a military victory over the Taleban was “neither feasible nor supportable”.

“What we need is sufficient troops to contain the insurgency to a level where it is not a strategic threat to the longevity of the elected Government,” he said.

Now, here's some of what Stephen Harper had to say at a forum in April before the NATO summit:

Harper said military success isn't building NATO forces up to the level where the insurgency is snuffed out, "that wouldn't be realistic.

"What would be realistic is yes, we'll build up our troop levels, but we will also mentor and train the Afghan forces so they can manage the security environment going forward -- manage it, not necessarily eliminate the insurgency.

"... I don't think it's realistic that we'll eliminate all violent conflict within the space of two or three years," the prime minister said.

But if Afghan forces take the security lead, allowing the international community to work on development and help the Afghan government improve its governance, "that would be the definition of mid-term success," he said.

Will it be achieved by 2011? "We always start these things with the determination we will achieve our benchmarks," Harper said. "We will do our best to achieve those, or at least show some progress in short order."

Harper was participating in an April 2 panel discussion at the Bucharest Conference, organized by the German Marshall Fund of the United States, entitled NATO in Afghanistan: Success not in sight, failure not an option (transcript).

As an aside, the BBC's Lyse Doucet moderated the event. She's originally from New Brunswick.

Carleton-Smith said negotiations with the Taliban might be necessary.

Defence Minister Peter MacKay said Sunday that such a decision would be up to the Afghan government:

Mr. MacKay did not say whether he agreed that the war in Afghanistan was not winnable.

But Mr. MacKay said he read Carleton-Smith's remarks in the Sunday Times of London “with great interest” because the British commander supported the Conservative position that the Afghan government must lead any discussions with the Taliban.

However, the newspaper did not quote Brig.-Gen. Carleton-Smith saying that.