Terrorists at the Table: Why Negotiating is the Only Way to Peace

Should governments talk to terrorists Do they have any choice Without doing so argues author Jonathan Powell in Terrorists at the Table we will never end armed conflict As violent insurgencies continue to erupt across the globe we need people who will brave the depths of the Sri Lankan jungle and scale the heights of the Colombian mountains painstakingly tracking down the heavily armed and dangerous 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 Presidents secret agents and intermediaries--exposing the subterranean world of secret exchanges between governments and armed groups to give us the inside account of negotiations on the front line These past negotiations shed light on how todays 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 if we are prepared to learn from the lessons of the past.