Talking to terrorists

About this book

Should governments talk to terrorists? Should they 'negotiate with evil'? Without communication, argues Powell, we will never end conflict. As violent insurgencies continue to erupt across the globe, we need people who will brave the depths of the Mindanao jungle and scale the heights of the Colombian mountains, painstakingly tracking down the heavily armed, faceless leaders of these terrorist groups in order to open negotiations with them. Powell draws on his own experiences negotiating peace in Northern Ireland and talks to all the major players from the last thirty years, terrorists, secret agents and intermediaries exposing the subterranean world of secret exchanges between governments and terrorist organizations to give us the inside account of negotiations on the front line. These past negotiations shed light on how today's negotiators can tackle the Taliban, Hammas and al-Qaeda. And history tells us that it may be necessary to fight and talk at the same time. Ultimately, Powell brings us a message of hope: there is no armed conflict anywhere in the world that cannot be resolved.