Lieutenant General David Barno said the Taliban's failure to make good on threats to disrupt the presidential elections in Afghanistan amounted to a "huge loss of face" that could pave the way for a reconciliation with the movement's rank-and-file fighters.

"The Taliban threatened, they cajoled, they intimidated, but when election day came they essentially were absent from the battlefield," said Barno, who commands the 18,000-strong US-led coalition in Afghanistan.

"They were not out there except in very small numbers across the country," he said, adding "that is a huge face loss for their role in that part of the country."

The October 9 presidential elections were marred by allegations of fraud, but Afghans turned out massively to cast ballots for the first time in the country's history. International observers said the process was "fairly democratic."

Hamid Karzai, the country's interim leader, holds a large lead with about a third of the ballots counted.

Barno, whose forces joined Afghan and NATO-led troops in an intensive effort to secure the elections, said the "overwhelming success of the election ... represented a significant defeat for the Taliban and al Qaeda and a significant victory for the millions of Afghans" who voted.

He predicted that the next government will launch a reconciliation initiative aimed at rank-and-file Taliban fighters.

"They can see which way all the arrows are pointing and they don't want to be living up in the mountains in the snow with an AK-47," he said.

"My take is the bulk of the rank-and-file would want to come out of the hills and join this very positive direction in Afghanistan," he said.

Barno said he thought the elections left the Taliban "vulnerable" to such an approach.

He said he thought US forces in Afghanistan will remain at current level, but suggested that the numbers could come down if a reconciliation effort takes hold.

"I think the 64,000 dollar question may be over the next six to nine months: Is the Taliban reconciliation going to be rolled out? Is it going to take hold? What effect will that have on Taliban moving in Afghanistan and in the Pakistani border area as well?"

"So the ultimate decision on how many troops you need may ultimately rest on how that actually pans out," he said.

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