March 17, 2008
British: Let's Talk to al Qaeda!
Bad: Former chief of staff to Prime Minister calls for opening up channels of communication with al Qaeda.
Worse: Current British Security minister says it would be silly not to have secret talks with al Qaeda.
Both groups employed terror tactics, if not to the same degree. But the difference between groups like the IRA and al Qaeda is that the former have political goals we can live with, like a unified Ireland, while the latter have political goals that are completely unacceptable, like the establishment of a Taliban like transcontinental Islamic state.
What would even be on the table for such negotiations? Okay al Qaeda, we'll give you all the "stans" if you let us keep Israel, Jordan, and an oil rich kingdom to be named at a later date?
