Do you think the British government will ever negotiate with Al Qaeda like it did with the IRA?

Question

After all it is obvious that this organisation is a major threat to this country and is currently using Iraq for recruiting / training purposes. Will this end up being the only option left for the government in a few years

I have asked this question because this is exactly what a BBC2 documentary due to be aired very soon is implying.

Answer 1

I don't think they can because at least the IRA had a definite goal of what they wanted so it was possible to discuss this and try to find a middle ground that everyone could live with. Al Quaeda just want to wage "holy war" and kill non muslims. So how can you negotiate with that

I guess the only thing they would accept is Britain becoming an Islamic State and that is NEVER going to happen.

marco_syco said it all really.

Answer 2

No, and I agree that al Quaeda are unlikely to want to negotiate. There is no common ground to be found, just the destruction of our way of life. What I fear is that the government will be weak-willed in the face of Muslim extremism at home. They have allowed a lot of clerics to spew hate for a long time.

My other concern is that the negotiations with the IRA started because the military conflict had reached a stalemate. If that happened in the middle east, the UK and US could hand Iraq over to a government which shares a lot of al Quaeda's views - such a party could do well in an election there - in order to get out.

Answer 3

The IRA and Al Qaeda are very different orginisations. While the IRA had very definate goals and wants, Al Qaeda it would seem are bent on persuing an aimless vendetta agains the western world. As well as that, many demands, such as the demands often made by kidnappers, are completely out of the question. Also, it would be hard to negotiate with Al Qaeda, as they have few obvious leaders, whereas the IRA had large, easily accessable figureheads such as Martin McGuinness and Gerry Adams, and their views weren't as extreme as Al Qaeda's are.

Answer 4

I think it's unlikely because fundamentalists of all religions believe they are acting in the name of and for the glory of their god.

The IRA had a very specific agenda and the government did what politicians do best, they lied and acted in their own best interests.
Blair somehow managed to convince the world he was a peacemaker for doing a deal in Ireland, the way was paved a long time before he started walking along that path.

What typifies ALL governments is the lies they tell the expendable, do the labour politicians really believe that the 30 years of murder and death of military personel is acceptable and forgetable in order to claim a tender peace?
How honerable is it that politicians readily sweep away the charges of murderer for the sake of a signature?

What of the now cheap and meaningless loss of soldiers lives who were sent to Ireland by their government, their families ignored, their sacrifice de-valued and their names forgotten by a group of slimy men who have questionable morals and no backbone.

To go back to your question - if it serves their purposes then why not? Politicians will sell their sole for silver so why not everything else?

Answer 5

I don't think so. Not in the short-medium term. The Northern Ireland issue was strictly between Britain and NI/Irl, even though the US played a role, it still directly impacted NI and England.
Al-Quaeda is different story: it's one part of the world against the other, and the pressure on British government, or any other government, would be huge if they wanted to negotiate. Can you imagine the US negotiating with Al-Quaeda? or letting Britain doing so?

Answer 6

The usefulness of negotiations with the IRA was apparent, but with Al-Qaeda negotiation is futile, they do not desire or need to be alive to see their plan work, they intend on dying.

At the end of the day the IRA still wanted to be around after the fighting was over.

Al-Qaeda members want to die and be martyrs.

Answer 7

Unlikely as Al-Qaeda is not a cohesive organisation with a straightforward political and command structure like the IRA. Al-Qaeda is more of a loosely organised umbrella organisation, that facilitates actions by other organisations by providing finance, expertise and training.

Answer 8

The IRA just didn't wish to be ruled by another country so they fought it off in whatever way they could.

Al-Queda and its allies BELIEVE that the west is evil. They have strong religious beliefs and hold the opinion that the FREE world is a serious threat to their culture and way of life.

After all, lets face it, the images they get of the US on TV is something they have no concept of.

Answer 9

The problem with that is i don't see any middle ground where they could agree!
IRA and British Government negotiations:
IRA: 'Get out of my country or I'll blow you up'
BG: 'what if we allow you to rule yourselves in coalition with the unionists as long as you give up violence'
IRA:'Fair enough'

Osama and Tony Blair:
TB: So I'm sure we can come to some agreement here, what is it you want?
Osama: You all to live as second class citizens in a worldwide Muslim Theocracy,
TB:hmmmmm..

Answer 10

Blair would negotiate with anyone if he thought he looked good in the eyes of the world. The only option is to let go of Bush and sort out our own foreign policy. We can never negotiate with anyone until we are our own people again.