It has long been an article of faith that the United States
does not “talk to terrorists”—that to engage in dialogue
with groups such as Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Muslim
Brotherhood would be tacitly to acknowledge their status as
legitimate political actors. Not so, argues Middle East
expert Mark Perry. In the absence of dialogue, we have
lumped these groups together with Al Qaeda as part of a
monolithic enemy defined by a visceral hatred of American
values. In reality, while they hold deep grievances about
specific US policies, they are ultimately far more defined
by their opposition to the deliberately anti-political
Salafist ideology of Al Qaeda.
Drawing on extensive interviews with Washington insiders,
Perry describes fruitful covert meetings between members of
the US armed forces and leaders of the Iraqi insurgency to
demonstrate that talking to terrorists may be best way to
end terrorism—controversial wisdom we ignore at our peril.
© 2003-2024 off-the-edge.net
all rights reserved Privacy Policy