Violent Islamist Fundamentalism

Friends,
An article from FT London on dealing with terrorists. The British should know something about this.
Peace and Love,
Rev O

"To make such points is not to argue that the Islamist fundamentalism espoused by al-Qaeda and its associates is anything less than a serious threat. There are plenty of dangerous Islamists for whom the only response will be military force. Nor should western policy be held prisoner to its impact on Muslim opinion. Driving al-Qaeda from Afghanistan was the right thing to do.

Yet a mindset that lumps together Hizbollah with al-Qaeda, Hamas with Iraq’s Shia militia or Kurdish separatists with the Taliban under the rubric of a single struggle is one that does al-Qaeda’s bidding. It excludes recognition of genuine grievances, ignores the impact of western policy and rules out any prospect of some extremists being won over to politics.

The change of administration in Washington will give the US and its friends a chance to reflect and recalibrate. The starting point is to stop talking about a war."

The fight that demands something other than a war
Terrorists are not all the same. A gripping account of the talks that brought peace to Northern Ireland begins with a useful caution: the experience gained in persuading the IRA to swap the Armalite for the ballot box should not be applied indiscriminately to other conflicts.
Philip Stephens on the lessons for the west’s confrontation with violent Islamism