By Richard Gray
A top aide to former Prime Minister Tony Blair has said that Britain must be prepared to talk to terror groups including al-Qa'eda and the Taliban if they hope to end their campaigns of violence.
We must talk to al-Qa'eda says former Tony Blair aide Jonathan Powell
Talking to terror groups has been dismissed in the past
Jonathan Powell, the long-term Downing Street chief of staff, said it was essential to keep a line of communication open with the terror groups.
The Northern Ireland peace deal, which Mr Powell played a central role in securing, showed how talking to terror groups could ultimately work, he said in an interview with The Guardian.
Secret contact established with the IRA during the 1970s helped to pave the way for the Good Friday Agreement.
But the call to talk to terror groups was dismissed by the Foreign Office as "inconceivable". Read more ...
A top aide to former Prime Minister Tony Blair has said that Britain must be prepared to talk to terror groups including al-Qa'eda and the Taliban if they hope to end their campaigns of violence.
We must talk to al-Qa'eda says former Tony Blair aide Jonathan Powell
Talking to terror groups has been dismissed in the past
Jonathan Powell, the long-term Downing Street chief of staff, said it was essential to keep a line of communication open with the terror groups.
The Northern Ireland peace deal, which Mr Powell played a central role in securing, showed how talking to terror groups could ultimately work, he said in an interview with The Guardian.
Secret contact established with the IRA during the 1970s helped to pave the way for the Good Friday Agreement.
But the call to talk to terror groups was dismissed by the Foreign Office as "inconceivable". Read more ...
Source: Telegraph
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