By Jonathon Burch

KABUL, March 13 (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama's administration should exert caution when considering talks with insurgents in Afghanistan and should focus on establishing law and accountable government, a think-tank said on Friday.

Building the Afghan army and police into a professional security force must be the primary role of any new U.S. troop deployment, providing foreign forces with their exit strategy, the Brussels-based International Crisis Group (ICG) said.

Obama told the New York Times in an interview published on Saturday that he was open to the idea of reaching out to moderate elements of the Taliban.

Some Western politicians and military officers say the war in Afghanistan cannot be won by military means alone.

While talks with militants willing to lay down their arms and accept the Afghan constitution and rule of law should not be ruled out, the ICG said, "great caution" was needed.

Previous peace agreements in Afghanistan and neighbouring Pakistan had collapsed within months and had strengthened the insurgents, it said.

"In each case they have enhanced the power and activities of violent insurgents while doing nothing to build sustainable institutions," the ICG said.

Washington should instead concentrate on strengthening and widening the reach of legitimate government institutions and not support parallel organisations or favoured individuals.

"What is needed in Afghanistan is the creation of a resilient state ... Only when citizens perceive the state as legitimate and capable of delivering security, good governance and rule of law will Afghans be able to resist jihadi pressures," it said.

Violence is at its highest level in Afghanistan since U.S.-led forces toppled the Taliban in late 2001. Obama is sending 17,000 more troops to the country, most to the south and east where thousands of foreign soldiers are already on the ground fighting a renewed Taliban insurgency.

But training the Afghan army and police into a capable security force must be the priority of any new U.S. troop deployment, the ICG said.

"The development of professional security services, under clear civilian command and control, would provide foreign forces their ultimate exit strategy," it said.

The United States, the primary trainer of the Afghan police, says it needs another 1,500 trainers and to help meet the shortage has had to shift soldiers from training the army to training the police.

With Afghanistan and the international community agreeing last year to expand the Afghan army from 80,000 soldiers to 134,000 by 2012, the demand for trainers will also increase. (Editing by Janet Lawrence)

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