Top Blair aide: we must talk to al-Qaida

[cal04]

Former No 10 chief says Irish peace process showed link to enemy needed
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/mar/15/uksecurity.alqaida

Western governments must talk to terror groups including al-Qaida and the Taliban if they hope to secure a long-term halt to their campaigns of violence, according to the man who for more than a decade was Tony Blair's most influential aide and adviser.

Jonathan Powell, who served as Blair's chief of staff from 1995 to 2007 and is widely regarded as having been instrumental in negotiating a settlement in Northern Ireland, said his experience in the province convinced him that it was essential to keep a line of communication open even with one's bitterest enemies.

Powell said: "There's nothing to say to al-Qaida and they've got nothing to say to us at the moment but at some stage you're going to have to come to a political solution as well as a security solution. And that means you need the ability to talk."

In his first major interview, ahead of the publication of his book on the behind the scenes drama leading to the Northern Ireland peace deal, Powell also delivered a remarkably candid assessment of the Blair years, revealing that:

[CJCRANE]

1. There are no war profits

to be gained from talking.

[Karenina]

2. Nice sentiment...

Might be wise to start with Al-CIAda. :rofl: