Mick Hartley

Well here we go again. The first two letters in the Times today seriously suggest that it is now time to negotiate with the terrorists. The second of the two is worth quoting in full for its sheer fatuousness:

We must find out how terrorists think and what they want, otherwise our uncompromising response will simply breed more disaffection for decades to come.

We are all in this together. Where the twin towers were a symbol of capitalism and dominance, commuter trains are not. Our task, right from the beginning, should have been to bring together all the nations of the world to tackle something that affects us all.

Instead, the US acted with disdain towards the UN and breached the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries. Its swaggering approach has done untold harm. We need dialogue and, ultimately, to bring even the terrorist into the fold.

How frustrating it must be for Al Qaeda and the other Islamic terrorist groups. They endeavour to make their aims as clear as possible – “We are not fighting so that you will offer us something. We are fighting to eliminate you” (Hussein Massawi, former Hezbollah leader) – but are constantly being misunderstood. Scott Burgess has some suggestions as to how the negotiations might proceed.